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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 52, 1841-1898 - Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the - islands and their peoples, their history and records of - the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books - and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial - and religious conditions of those islands from their - earliest relations with European nations to the close of - the nineteenth century
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 52, 1841-1898 - Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the - islands and their peoples, their history and records of - the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books - and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial - and religious conditions of those islands from their - earliest relations with European nations to the close of - the nineteenth century" ***
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,
Volume LII, 1841-1898
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVII
CONTENTS OF VOLUME LII
Preface 13
Documents of 1841-1898
Internal political condition of the Philippines.
Sinibaldo de Mas; Madrid, 1842 29
Matta's report. Juan Manuel de la Matta; Manila,
February 25, 1843 91
The Philippines, 1860-1898: some comment and
bibliographical notes. James A. LeRoy; Durango,
Mexico, 1907 112
Events in Filipinas, 1841-1872. [Summarized from
Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas.] 208
Constitution of the Liga Filipina. José Rizal; Tondo,
July 3, 1892 217
The friar memorial of 1898. Manuel Gutierrez, O.S.A.,
and others; Manila, April 21, 1898 227
Bibliographical Data 287
Appendix: Agriculture in Filipinas. Joseph Basco y Vargas,
and others 291
Errata and addenda to VOLUMES I-LII 325
ILLUSTRATIONS
Map of East India Islands, in James Bell's System of
Geography (Glasgow, 1836), v, map 2; photographic
facsimile from copy in Library of Harvard
University Frontispiece
Map of the Dolores or Garbanzos Islands (the Carolinas),
1731; photographic facsimile of original MS. map,
drawn by Juan Antonio Cantova, S.J., in Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla 37
Map of the Philippine and Mariana Islands; enlarged
photographic facsimile of map in Lettres édifiantes, xi
(Paris, M. DCC. XV), p. 74; from copy in Library of
Harvard University 209
Autograph signatures of Diego Luis San Vitores, S.J., and
others; photographic facsimile from original MS. in Archivo
general de Indias, Sevilla 337
Map of portion of the Palaos Islands, discovered 1710 by
expedition under Francisco Padilla; drawn by José Somera,
chief pilot; photographic facsimile of original MS. map
in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 347
Chart of the port of Sisiran, in the province of Camarines;
photographic facsimile from Arandia's Ordenanzas de marina
(Manila, 1757) between pp. 26-27; from copy in Library of
Congress 355
PREFACE
In this final documentary volume of our series we present matter which
is planned to bring out the salient points of the highly important
period from 1841 to 1898, a little more than the last half-century
of the Spanish régime, together with such bibliographical aids as
will enable students to find readily the best and most available
sources for the history of that time. The first two documents (written
respectively by a civil official and a military commander) furnish
a reliable and intelligent survey, by eyewitnesses, of political,
economic, and social conditions in the islands in 1842-43; and thus
supplement the similar relations (in VOL. LI) dated fifteen years
earlier. The admirable paper by James A. LeRoy who is well known as the
leading authority on Philippine affairs, places before our readers a
clear and orderly review of the last four decades of Spanish rule in
Filipinas--with keen but impartial comments on conditions, events,
and men therein; and with full and well-selected bibliographical
references to the best works on the subject. It gives us pleasure
to present here the hitherto unpublished constitution of the Liga
Filipina, from Rizal's own MS. draft; and the friar memorial of 1898
(a curiously mediæval document for the end of the nineteenth century),
which heretofore had appeared only in a limited Spanish edition and
a partial and unsatisfactory English translation. To these documents
is added an appendix on agricultural conditions in Filipinas, giving a
view of these in 1784 and another in 1866; an outline of the projects,
efforts, and achievements of the noted Economic Society of Manila;
and bibliographical references for the use of the reader. Following
is a synopsis of the above documents:
Of exceeding interest and importance is the third volume of Mas's
Informe, on the policy of the Spanish government as regards internal
affairs in the Philippine Islands. Intended almost exclusively for the
use of the government, but comparatively few copies were published,
and hence the volume is of great rarity, and is not mentioned by
most of the bibliographers. We know with certainty of four copies:
two owned in the Philippines, one by the heirs of Clemente Zulueta,
and the other by Epifanio de los Santos (our translation being made
from a typewritten copy of the latter); one in the Peabody Institute,
Baltimore, and one in the collection of the Compañía General de
Tabacos de Filipinas, Barcelona. Its chief value and importance lie
in its treatment of various vital questions that had already begun to
present themselves to some minds more or less clearly--the relation of
the Filipino-Spaniards to those of the Peninsula; questions concerning
the natives, Chinese mestizos, and Spaniards; separation from Spain;
and lastly, the proposition to free the islands. The document, while
containing many things that are general in nature, and which even
appear childish and visionary, is in many other things clear-sighted,
and shows deep and keen observation. The first two volumes of Mas's
work (which have been cited so frequently in this series) were
written in order to form a suitable background to the third volume,
and thus lead to it naturally, by giving a résumé in succinct form
of the history, government, and social and economic conditions of
the islands. Proceeding to his purpose, the author states that the
intentions of Spain in regard to the colony may be one of three:
perpetual possession; utter neglect; or emancipation. He treats only
of the first and third. To ensure perpetual possession, there are
three principles to be borne in mind and acted upon: the reduction
of the white population; the subordination of the natives; and the
general reform of the Spanish administration. The growth of the white
population fosters the spirit of independence, for the Spaniards of the
Philippines look upon the islands as their own country, and have no
affection for Spain. Their only concern is to hold possession of the
government posts, but they are lazy and ignorant. They are naturally
disgruntled by the appointment of peninsular Spaniards to posts in the
islands; for, since the promotions are limited, they cannot hope for
the advancement that they believe is due them. Their discontent was
seen in practical form in the insurrection instigated in 1822 because
of the officials brought from Spain by Antonio Martinez; and there
was evident discontent because of the new contingent that appeared in
1825. There are more than one thousand Filipino-Spanish males in the
Philippines, but only four hundred posts, and their hopes continually
wane at the appearance of officials from Spain, although Spain has
an evident right to send whom it will to the islands. To obviate the
trouble, Mas suggests that only single men be sent to the islands from
Spain to act as officials, and that they be required to return to the
Peninsula after twenty years' service, with the option of returning in
ten years. These men will probably marry Spanish women in the islands,
and on their return to Spain will take their families with them, thus
reducing the white population considerably. It is a mistake to send
women to the colony, and a grave error to endeavor to increase the
white population there. A plan is proposed for the further reduction of
the white population by sending all males to Spain at the government
expense, at the age of sixteen, where they shall be educated at the
expense of the Manila treasury. The sending of the situado from Spain
for the support of the islands was formerly a large factor in keeping
the colony loyal, but since that has become unnecessary the one great
check on the colony has disappeared. But separation now would mean
that the whites would disappear in the mass of the natives, and would
even become inferior to them. It is wrong to infer that the whites and
the natives will work together, for there is a barrier between them,
and the recent outbreak in Tayabas cannot in any way be ascribed to
the former. The salvation of the whites lies in agriculture, and great
profits are to be acquired therein, although the Spaniards are loath
to engage in such work. Their fields can be cultivated by Chinese
labor, and by captured Moros, and contracts can be made, in addition,
with individual Filipinos, under certain exemptions. Mas favors
the system of indentured servants, for self-interest will dictate
good treatment to them. To ensure native respect for the whites, the
education of the former must be very restricted, and the colleges at
Manila be closed. Filipino soldiers shall not rise above the rank
of private or corporal. Filipino secular priests must be reduced
in numbers, and must, in general, act only as the assistants of the
regulars. Filipinos cannot maintain the dignity of the priestly office,
and instead debauch it, as Mas proves by various letters. Religion
is the mainstay of the islands, and the regular curas must be given
as much power as possible, and officials must work in harmony with
them. The friars must, however, live morally, abstain from trade,
and not meddle in temporal affairs. Emancipation will be the ruin of
the friars; and, in order that they may conserve Spanish interests,
all the curas must be Spaniards from Spain. Curas lose respect among
the natives because they are compelled to collect the marriage
and burial fees, and the government should come to their aid by
collecting these under the form of a specified tax. Above all,
the whites must observe religious ceremonies, which they now almost
utterly neglect. The laws of the Indias are executed too rigidly, and
are too favorable to the natives. The latter are becoming arrogant
and impudent, and will end by driving out the Spaniards. Mas would
require a distinctive dress for the natives, the chiefs to be the
only ones who may wear jackets. The priests have been guilty of
destroying rank among them. Natives must salute all Spaniards and
show great outward respect. The title of "Don" must be given them
no longer, for this gives the idea of equality with the whites. All
government officials must be given decent pay, and must be made to
spend it liberally. Offices should not be given in order that their
incumbents may amass money. Only Spaniards of good character should be
allowed to go to the islands. If the treasury officials are decreased
in number and the collections farmed out, this work should be done
by natives and mestizos, as this is an odious office, and engenders
much ill-will. Race hatred must be developed between the Filipinos
and Chinese mestizos as much as possible. The latter are the richer
and more intelligent, and in case of emancipation at this moment would
soon gain the upper hand. They are hated by the natives. It is highly
important to have a respectable and moral Spanish force in the islands,
for should the native troops mutiny nothing can be done as matters now
stand. Curas should have the power of intervention in the meetings
of the principales, as this method will avoid conspiracy. Natives
should not be taught how to cast artillery or make firearms and
powder. Indeed, the powder factory recently established should
be suppressed, as the contract under which it was allowed is not
advantageous, and better powder is manufactured in Murcia. Steam
vessels are needed for quick communication among the islands,
and to repel Moro invasions, and suppress insurrections. Spanish
should not be taught to the natives. Newspapers may be allowed,
under proper censorship; and curas should translate into the native
dialect such articles as are important for the natives. A complete
system of police is necessary. Trouble is to be expected from China,
but it will be quite safe to allow the entrance of a certain number
of Chinese laborers to work on the estates of the whites. They can
be counted on in case of trouble with the natives, and in case they
themselves revolt native hatred will soon finish them. It is advisable
to watch the intercourse between foreigners living in the islands and
the natives. A complete reform is needed in the administration of the
government, which, as now constituted, is honeycombed with laxity
and graft. The laws of the Indias are confused and contradictory,
as is proved by numerous citations. Government is too little
centralized. Spanish statesmen have been guilty of strange errors
in regard to the Philippines, through their ignorance. Mas proposes
a regency of three men, the president to be a Spanish grandee. The
duties of this body are outlined, which in general correspond to
those of the governor-general and Audiencia. The plan contemplates a
Council of State; and thorough judiciary reforms, in order to render
the judiciary independent of the government. The prestige of rank is
to be observed, as this is a large factor in preserving the status
quo. In the provinces, the provincial chiefs (who are to be sent from
Spain) shall hold all the power, as at present. The treasury reforms
suggested look toward a lessening of graft, and greater economy. In
case the Spanish government decides to emancipate the Philippines, the
exactly opposite course must be chosen to the one outlined so fully
for their conservation. Education and the arts must be encouraged,
newspapers allowed with but a mild censorship, and the population
must become amalgamated. To effect the last, dowries should be paid
to the women in all crossed marriages. Native assemblies should be
established in order to train them in political matters. Mas favors
emancipation. The islands have been a drag on Spain from the first,
and, if a violent separation comes, it will result in a further loss
of life and treasure. It is interesting to note that he adds a plea
for the greater humanitarianism of the emancipation plan.
Matta's report of 1843 in regard to the moral condition of the
Philippines, and the reforms necessary in administrational and economic
matters for the conservation of the islands is of great practical
value. The report was called forth by the sedition of Apolinario,
the founder of the cofradia of San José, and the revolt in 1843 of a
portion of the troops. It sets forth the loss of prestige by both the
government and the regular clergy (once the prime support of Spanish
authority in the islands), and the confusion that is rife throughout
Manila and the provinces, a state approaching anarchy. Political
factions, the troubles arising from the contradictory character of the
natives, the demoralization in military circles, all demand radical
reforms. A system of law taking into consideration the character
of the natives is needed, as well as greater centralization in the
government, with well defined powers granted to subordinate officials;
suppression of various religious educational institutions as breeders
of discontent and trouble, and the establishment of commercial and
other schools; abolition of the residencia; and other legislative
and economic measures. For the development of the islands capital
is needed, but reform must precede in order that capital may be
attracted. Agriculture is the main support of the islands, and must be
developed by the whites, mestizos, and Chinese, who will support the
government, and thus offset the immense numbers of the natives. The
report calls for extensive military reforms and the establishment of
a good police system. Tagálog academies are proposed, so that Spanish
officers may learn the native language. It is of great importance to
conciliate both Peninsulars and Spaniards born in the Philippines,
and to show partiality to neither, in order that prosperity may reign.
Mr. LeRoy's contribution to this volume consists of two parts:
a general editorial comment on the modern era of the Philippines,
and some bibliographical notes and further comments for the study of
that period. The first shows the influences working in and through
the Philippines and the Filipinos, and is necessarily treated on
broad lines, detail being scrupulously avoided. The second part is
written in the same spirit, but in notes and titles gives the student
full material for the study of the modern era. By the modern era,
Mr. LeRoy means roughly the last half of the nineteenth century,
but necessarily, in speaking of it, he has been compelled to go back
to influences beginning to be felt before that time. Very briefly
he sketches the elements making for a broader life in economic and
social and political lines; the break-down of old ideas, whose longer
continuance was untenable in material, intellectual, and religious
progress; and the rise of the greater respect and self-consciousness
of the Filipinos. In his bibliographical section, the author treats
fairly and impartially of the threefold development of the Filipinos
and the Philippines: viz., the social; the economic--under which
are discussed general considerations, agriculture, land, etc., the
Chinese, industries, commerce, internal trade, navigation, etc., and
currency--and the political, under which are discussed the Spanish
administration and the Filipino propaganda and revolution. Under the
first division of the latter are treated the administrative organism,
the administration as actually working, taxation, legal and judicial
matters, science and material resources, the Moros and pagan peoples;
and under the second, the religious question, the friar estates,
the Filipino clergy and their cause, the revolt of 1872, reform and
demands for more "assimilation," the propagandists, Masonry, the Liga
Filipina, etc., the Katipunan, the insurrection of 1896-97, the pact
of Biak-na-bató and the question of independence. By its mass of
comment and titles, this section fully supplements the first part,
and presents to the student a comprehensive survey of Philippine
life and development, that will be found the most useful material
yet published for detailed study of the modern era.
In "Events in Filipinas, 1841-1872," the attempt is made only to
indicate general conditions in the islands, by citing very briefly
some of the more important matters during that period in social,
religious and economic lines. In addition to this, we have added a
short bibliography, from which the student may gather abundant and
accessible material for this period.
Through the kindness of Sr. Epifanio de los Santos we are enabled
to present in full for the first time the constitution of the Liga
Filipina (which was organized by Rizal on July 3, 1892) from a copy
made from the manuscript of Rizal. This constitution shows the Liga
not to have been formed for the purpose of independence, but for mutual
aid and protection of its members, and the fostering of a more united
spirit among Filipinos. Nowhere does it contain a word against the
sovereignty of Spain or against religion. In it are declared the ends,
form, duties of members and officials, rights of members and officials,
the investment of funds, and general rules. The one exception that
might be taken to the constitution is that implicit and unquestioning
obedience to all superior commands is required from the members.
As the last document proper in this series we present the Friar
Memorial of April 21, 1898, which voices the protest of all the orders
(Augustinians, Franciscans, Recollects, Dominicans, and Jesuits),
but which was destined never to reach officially those for whom it
was intended (the Spanish government, through the minister of the
colonies), because of the appearance in Spanish waters of the American
squadron, and the defeat of the Spanish fleet. It is fitting, however,
to present this document in this series, as it is a complete statement
of the friars' standpoint, and especially as the last document of
the series, as it marks the passing of the old Spanish régime. The
beginning and ending alike express the loyalty of the orders to
the Spanish government, and throughout the document is noted the
expression of the patriotism of all the members of the orders as
Spaniards. The memorial, as a whole, is a protest against the charges
brought against the friars from both Spanish and Philippine sources;
against free-thought; against Masonry and other secret societies;
against the secularization of the orders, episcopal visitation,
secularization of schools, and all the other demands of the separatists
and insurgents. That the friars are the cause of the insurrection, they
indignantly deny. They have ever done their duty, and have worked in
the interests of religion and the Spanish fatherland. The insurgents,
the filibusters, the separatists, of both Spain and the islands,
have directed their whole cry against religion in order to veil their
real purpose. The friars have borne all the vilification that has
been directed against them patiently, but they cannot for their own
honor do so longer. They are proud of their record throughout the
history of the islands, and are mindful that, as the only permanent
peninsular social factor in the Philippines, they have christianized
the islands, have maintained peaceful relations therein, and have
kept them for Spain. Only since the entrance of those imbued with
the revolutionary free-thought, and of Freemasons, have the islands
been disturbed--a period of about thirty years. The Katipunan society
is nothing else than a society constructed on Masonic principles,
and its rapid diffusion of late throughout many districts greatly
complicates the problem and renders the remedy more difficult. Had
the orders been silent in the face of the attempts of the Masons,
of the filibusters, and of the insurgents, they would not have
become an object of persecution; but since they always stood out
for the traditional religion and for Spain, the storm of abuse and
ill-treatment has fallen upon them. They challenge their detractors and
calumniators to prove charges that they have not fulfilled their duty,
and those of personal immorality. They have not committed abuse in the
taking of parochial fees; they are not hostile to education (indeed,
all the education of the islands has been established and fostered
by them); they do not despise the educated natives, but, as is easily
proved, are good friends with them. Most of the graduates from their
institutions have remained loyal, and the same is generally true of
the wealthy classes. The real cause of the rebellion can be traced
back to the government in allowing the entrance of free-thought into
the islands and the dissemination of Masonic doctrines, which have
led to the lessening of respect for religion and for Spain; and, as
this has come about, it has been natural for race hatred to spring
up. The only way of obtaining peace is to strengthen the religious
life of the islands, and to force out all the revolutionary forces
of free-thought and Masonry. The mission of the friars must receive
government support and respect, else it will be impossible for them
longer to remain in the islands. They do not desire temporal honors, or
to take part in the civil affairs of government; they are even willing
to relinquish the slight official intervention that they possess: but
they must demand the honor due to religion which has always been theirs
by right. They are governed in their actions by the Syllabus errorum
of Pius IX. The laws of the Indias, the actions of the sovereigns, the
instructions to Legazpi: all commit Spain to the maintenance of friars
in the Philippines, and to the greater interests of religion. Even
earlier, the Siete Partidas of Alfonso the Wise command respect to
ecclesiastical persons. This respect, therefore, the friars demand,
if they are longer to remain in the islands, and be the support of the
government. This memorial is one by those who are fighting for life,
and who see dimly ahead the fate that may overtake them.
The subject of agriculture in the islands is briefly treated in
an appendix, showing conditions in the islands in 1784 and 1866, as
described by Governor Basco and the German traveler Jagor respectively;
the aims and achievements of the Economic Society of Manila; and
references to the more important writings on agriculture in the
islands. All show how backward were the conditions of that industry,
even to the end of the Spanish régime, although various efforts
were made by Spain to institute reforms and promote the cultivation
of the soil; but most of these were too superficial and partial to
be successful--indeed, they were continually hindered by the whole
system of Spanish colonial administration and the deficiencies in
the native character and training.
In conclusion, the Editors desire to express their cordial thanks and
acknowledgments for information, suggestions, and other assistance
rendered by the many friends of this undertaking. The majority of
these have been already mentioned in previous volumes, especially in
annotations furnished by them; and the names of several more appear
in the list of "Errata and addenda" (at the end of this volume)
which is unavoidable in any series so extensive as this. Therein
is contained much information which reached the Editors too late
for insertion in its proper place, or was furnished by those whose
personal knowledge enabled them to correct misstatements in works cited
as authorities. The following persons may be mentioned as meriting
special thanks for aid rendered to the Editors: Manuel de Yriarte,
chief of Division of Archives, Manila; Epifanio de los Santos, Malolos,
Bulacan, Luzón; T. H. Pardo de Tavera, of the Philippine Commission,
Manila; and Rev. Anthony Huonder, S.J., Luxembourg, Europe.
The Editors
June, 1907.
DOCUMENTS OF 1841-1898
Internal political condition of the Philippines. Sinibaldo de
Mas; 1842.
Matta's report. Juan Manuel de la Matta; February 25, 1843.
The Philippines, 1860-1898: some comment and bibliographical
notes. James A. LeRoy; 1907.
Events in Filipinas, 1841-1872. [Summarized from Montero y Vidal.]
Constitution of the Liga Filipina. José Rizal; July 3, 1892.
The friar memorial of 1898. Manuel Gutierrez, O.S.A., and others;
April 21, 1898.
Sources: The first of these documents, the rare volume iii of Mas's
Informe, is obtained from a typewritten copy furnished by Epifanio de
los Santos from the printed original in his possession; the second,
from an unpublished MS. in the possession of T. H. Pardo de Tavera,
who furnished to the Editors a typewritten copy of it; the third is
written especially for this series by James A. LeRoy; the fourth is
summarized from volume iii of Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas;
the fifth is obtained from a copy, furnished by E. de los Santos,
of Rizal's original MS.; the sixth, from James A. LeRoy's copy of one
of the printed originals, revised by a printed copy belonging to the
Madrid edition.
Translations: All these documents (outside of the third) are translated
by James Alexander Robertson.
INTERNAL POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE PHILIPPINES, 1842
Report on the condition of the Filipinas Islands in 1842. Written
by the author of the "Aristodemo," of the "Sistema musical de la
lengua castellana," etc. [1] Volume III. Their internal political
condition. Madrid, January, 1843.
The twenty-four chapters which I have presented hitherto, [2] have
only been preliminary studies, in order that I might treat of the
present matter; for it would be an ill thing to speak of the internal
administration of the country, or of the line of policy that it is
of advantage to adopt therein, without passing in review its anterior
data, analyzing its elements, and forming an opinion of its resources.
The laws of every state must have one object, and the wiser and more
perfect they are, the better they fulfil their end. To discourse,
then, on those laws which are advisable in Filipinas, one must take
note of the intentions that the government may have in regard to the
islands. These intentions will probably be reduced to the following
plans or principles.
To conserve the colony forever, that is to say, without its separation
being even thought of.
To consider indifferently its loss or its conservation, and the fate
of the Spaniards living in the colony.
To resolve upon emancipation, and prepare the colony for giving it
freedom. [3]
In regard to the second of these three fundamental policies,
nothing occurs to me to say, except that it follows in everything,
as hitherto. I shall treat, then, only of the first and last.
In order to conserve the colony, it is necessary, in my opinion, to
work with reference to the spirit of the following three principles,
which I shall endeavor successively to explain: 1st. It is advisable
to reduce the Spanish-Filipino [4] population to the least possible
number. 2d. The people of color must voluntarily give respect and
obedience to the whites. 3rd. The general administration demands a
complete reform.
1st. It is advisable to reduce the population, etc. In the epochs
when the light of experience was lacking, it was believed that the
most powerful means of assuring the possession of a colony was to
increase the white race therein as much as possible; and, as a school
for this conviction, they preferred to send thither as employes
those who had the most children, especially female. The Council of
Indias [5] has, up to its last gasp, given proofs of this erroneous
idea. But since then it has been seen that, in fleeing from Scylla,
it has fallen into Charybdis; for among this white population born in
the country, there is formed a local interest opposed to that of the
mother-country, which begins by creating a discontent, and ends by
suggesting the desire for independence. [Although a Filipino-Spaniard
calls himself a Spaniard, all his sympathies are in the Philippines,
and Spain is only secondary in his thoughts. Generally the sons or
grandsons of government employes, Filipino-Spaniards, receive but
little education, are fond of playing the gentleman, are lazy and
dissipated. Little inclined to a professional or business career,
they put all their efforts on securing a government post. As it
is about one-half of the posts do belong to them, but since the
best posts depend upon the favor of the Madrid ministers, the
Filipino-Spaniards are constantly disappointed in the promotion
which they believe belongs to them by right. Consequently, there is
much ill-will and complaint. Camba's pamphlet, [6] although chiefly
written to prove that there was no disloyalty in the Philippines,
yet noted the anger and consequent mutiny (June 2-3, 1823) [7]
because of the arrival of Governor J. Antonio Martinez (October,
1822) with a large staff of Peninsular officials and sergeants; as
well as the displeasure manifested in October, 1825, by the arrival
of a new contingent of civil and military officers with Governor
Mariano Ricafort. Still, it is not right to expect that, so long as
Spain does not intend to abandon the Philippines, it should refrain
from sending Peninsulars to fill the posts there or cease to exercise
the appointing or removing power as it sees fit. If all the posts are
reserved for the Filipino-Spaniards, it cannot be expected that the
islands will remain loyal to a country so distant from them. In fact,
the Filipino-Spaniards, under existing circumstances, cannot receive
greater consideration than at present. The natural and necessary
preference for Peninsulars in the posts of the Philippines engenders
the hatred of the Filipino-Spaniards toward them; but, on the other
hand, this hatred has been greatly exaggerated by the Peninsulars,
who are intolerant and contemptuous of the colonials. This contempt,
Mas illustrates by two examples, of which he was an eyewitness. Such
things, together with the contemptuous nickname given them by
the Peninsulars, gives rise to much ill-will on the part of the
Filipino-Spaniards, who declare that all the cause of the enmity
between the two classes comes from the former. The real cause, however,
of the hatred, is economic, and a matter of the posts. Each of the male
Filipino-Spaniards is seeking a post, but since there are only four
hundred posts of all kinds in the islands, while the Filipino-Spaniards
number about one thousand, the trouble must be continuous and must even
become exaggerated, just so long as a remedy is not applied. Such a
remedy would be for the government to refuse them any post in the army
or other department of government service in the Philippines, although
recognizing them as Spaniards with full rights if they come to reside
in the Peninsula. Mas proceeds to elaborate his plan for decreasing the
white population of the Philippines. All Spaniards going from Europe to
the Philippines before the age of fifteen or sixteen must be regarded
as Filipino-Spaniards. It is proposed that only single men be sent to
fill posts in the islands, and that they be compelled to return to the
Peninsula after twenty years, with permission to return in ten if they
so please. It will be natural for these men to marry Filipino-Spanish
women, who with their children will accompany their husbands to the
Peninsula at the end of the twenty years. Transportation should be
at national expense. On a basis of three passages for each family,
the cost would be only 450 pesos. Each twenty years, there would be
one thousand two hundred return passages to be paid. This would cost
only 27,000 pesos annually. In return, four hundred men would have
to be sent to the islands each twenty years, or with allowance for
deaths and other contingencies, five hundred. At 300 pesos apiece,
this would cost annually 8,750 pesos; and the total transportation
expense would be only 35,750 pesos. Although transportation is not
now paid by the government, the strange mismanagement is practiced
of sending married men with families, thus increasing the white
population. On the basis that there are three thousand five hundred
young Filipino-Spaniards in the islands (both male and female), and
reckoning sixty years as the average life of the individual, there
would be fifty-eight and one-third individuals for each year of the
sixty years, of whom one-half would be women (and hence eligible for
marriage with the Peninsulars). All the males shall be taken to Spain
at the end of the fifteenth or sixteenth year at national expense,
and there educated at the expense of the Manila treasury in whatever
profession they choose. These shall reside in the Peninsula thereafter,
where they shall be given a post. Some few of the thirty or so of the
males reaching the indicated age annually, will doubtless prefer to
devote themselves to commerce or industry; hence at the most there will
be only about twenty-five passages of young men to reckon on annually,
which will be an inconsiderable expense. If this plan be carried out
there will be few children to transport after sixteen years. European
Spaniards, if prohibited from marrying native Filipino and mestizo
women, will marry only Filipino-Spanish women. Hence, as they
continue to retire to Spain, the white population will constantly
decrease. There will not be a sufficiently large number of whites to
become turbulent, and the domination of the Peninsula over the islands
will be ensured. This plan can be carried out at an annual expense
of about 40,000 pesos, and probably much less. This will really be
a saving over present expenses, for retirement and widows' pensions
cost more, the widow of an oidor receiving 18,000 reals vellon. Hence,
the passive classes receive about 175,000 pesos annually. However,
Mas does not advocate that those receiving pensions at present be
deprived of them or sent to Spain, as this would be unjust and cause
discontent. In former years the quarrels and discontent did not lead to
desire for independence. The population was not so great as now; also
(and especially) since an annual situado was sent from the Peninsula
to pay the government employes, and the latter thus depended on the
Spanish treasury, they would have gained nothing by rebelling. This
is the case at present in the Marianas Islands, where the officials
are paid and supported from the money and food sent there, and the
few whites there, consequently, have no desire for independence.] It
will also be asked, in addition, whether, in case the Philippine colony
separated at present, it would be possible for the white population to
become masters of the country, or would there be a tendency for them,
perhaps, to amalgamate with the colored population. The observation
is very just. The Filipino-Spaniards do not think of forming a body
with the (Indian) natives, nor is it possible for them to desire it,
for now they are the masters and in such an event they would become
equals and even inferiors, since the vast mass of the natives would
quickly reduce them to nullity in the matter of government, and
in place of the privileges and exemptions from paying taxes, which
they at present enjoy, they would more than once have to obey and
humble themselves before the very one who now mops the ground that
their foot touches. In the recent occurrence of Tayabas, [8] when
the first news of the insurrection arrived, I was at a gathering of
several Spanish leaders, and they all believed, or at least suspected,
that the whites of the country had compromised themselves in the
matter. I maintained immediately, and obstinately, that they were
mistaken in this, since however disloyal and intemperate one may fancy
the Filipino-Spaniards, it was impossible for me to believe that it
would ever enter their heads to arouse and arm the natives. In fact,
the true spirit of the movement was soon known, and it was seen that
the Filipino-Spaniards were as alarmed at the result (if not more
so) as were the Europeans. Their hopes and plans, then, can only be
based on the persuasion that the natives and Chinese mestizos will
continue quiet, and pay the tribute as at present, and that they will
make their patrimony from the country, and share its posts. This idea
is highly absurd, no doubt. Much less loved by the natives than the
Europeans, without the support of the friars (for even granting the
case that those living in the country should remain, others would
cease to go from the Peninsula), without capital, in a weak minority
for the subjugation of more than two hundred thousand rich, active,
and intelligent mestizos, and three and one-half millions of natives
(who have already rebelled against the Spaniards themselves, in spite
of the great prestige of the reenforcements that could be received from
the other side of the seas), and compelled by force of circumstances
to adopt a liberal and intelligent system with reference to these
same natives, which would speedily make the latter more arrogant and
exacting than at present, it is quite easy to see that the government
of Filipinas, would within a very few years, fall into the hands of the
Indian Filipinos, or, perhaps, into those of the Chinese mestizos, or
of the two races mixed, and that the whites would become submissive to
the people of color--if they were not despoiled of all their property,
as having been usurped and without valid title, just as happened to the
Turkish families who had acquired possession in that land during the
long rule of the Turks in Greece, in which, since the insurrection,
not a single Mussulman has remained. It is clear, therefore, that
this Spanish population, long established in the country, is the one
that has most to lose. In case of an outbreak, the Europeans would
return to España, where they would continue their professions and
would find their kin. The Filipino-Spaniards, however, would have
to change utterly, for they would lose everything, and would have
to seek another country. These are obvious and important truths, and
nevertheless, can we tax the individuals in question with being blind
or stupid, when we see repeatedly in the history of popular revolts
that a Bailly, a Danton, in fine, that the most clever and eminent
men persuade themselves that they are able to stop a revolution at
the line which they trace, and do not suspect that they are going to
be the victims of the masses who rise?
For the white population that remains in the country, and for all
who are living there at present, agriculture offers an abundant
resource. Very fatal is the deep-rooted idea that Spaniards cannot
prosper in it. [Mas cites several instances to prove that Spaniards can
succeed in agriculture in the Philippines. He also cites the instances
of the Ansaldos family as told by father Agustin de Santa Maria, who
acquired great wealth from agriculture, and who moved to the Peninsula
during the English invasion.] Reflection: Just as the two Ansaldos
brothers, leaving the life of trade, which the Spaniards in the Indias
generally follow, applied themselves to the cultivation of the soil
through their own efforts, lived many years, and succeeded in amassing
a fixed and permanent capital, why could not the same be done by so
many idle spongers who go about Manila with their white faces begging,
deceiving, terrifying, exciting, and confounding all the inhabitants?
The present superintendent of the islands, Don Juan M. de la Matta,
[9] whose opinion I greatly respect, because I truly believe that
he is one of the few Spaniards who know the country, and that he has
the capacity, honor, patriotism, and energy to do something good and
solid there, wrote me in a letter now before me: "It is necessary
for the Spanish population to stick to agriculture, the only source
capable of providing abundantly for their necessities, for which the
profit from any other employ in the different careers of the state
is indeed very insufficient. I have already called the attention
of the ministry of the treasury to this particular, showing that a
wretched generation, and consequently, one dissolute and turbulent,
is increasing daily, and that the government must prevent in time
the fatal consequences, by inviting them to turn their attention
to agriculture. [10] In fact, there are rich and extensive lands
which have been abandoned, which ought to invite the attention of a
Filipino-Spaniard more than the posts, for with an estate not only
can he live in ease and independently, but he can also establish a
rich patrimony for his descendants. Lands that now are worth little,
or even nothing, will in time have a greater or less price by reason
of the population of the territory and the perfection to which its
cultivation is carried. There is today in the charity hospital of
Sidney an aged woman, whose husband owned a bit of land, which he
sold thirty years back for three pounds sterling, and at this moment
it is worth one-half million pesos fuertes. And this, only because
of the rapid increase in population! In Filipinas itself, any one
can be convinced of this manifest fact, which is a trivial truth
among economists. In Laguna and other provinces, there are most
fertile fields, abandoned and at the disposal of the one who will
take them; and in Bulacan and Tondo, whose soil is very inferior,
all have owners and a value. In the environs of Malolos and Manila,
land costs one thousand pesos fuertes per quiñon. One hundred years
ago, this same quiñon could be bought for fifty."
[The difficulty in attracting the whites to an agricultural life lies
in the labor question. Mas does not consider advisable the system of
the Dutch in Java, [11] and prescribed by certain laws of the Indies,
of compelling the natives to work in estates at the established wage
scale, "as the natives have been accustomed for three centuries to
be humored and allowed freely to work or live in idleness according
to their fancy." He proposes that the heavy tribute of the Chinese
who cultivate the lands of the Spaniards be reduced to the small
amount paid by the Chinese mestizos; also that negritos, Igorots,
and captured Moro pirates be made to cultivate the fields for the
Spaniards. He also recommends the plan of indenturing the condemned
criminals out to the cultivators, as England did with its criminals,
who were sent to America in former periods. This system Mas does
not consider as unjust or inhumane, but quite the contrary, for the
farmers, since their pocket book is touched, will be more considerate
than the prison officials. He recommends the awarding of prizes for
the cultivation of cacao and coffee; and "finally, the authorization of
individual contracts, by means of which Filipinos may bind themselves
to work on the estate of a Spaniard for a certain number of years,
as is done in the military service, such Spaniards then remaining
subject until the termination of the contract. These persons, during
said time, shall be exempt from service in the army, and exemption
from polos and personal service may even be conceded to some (for
instance, to one for each quiñon of land)."]
2d. People of color must voluntarily respect and obey the whites. In
order to attain this object, it is necessary to maintain the former
race in an intellectual and moral condition which will make of their
numerical majority a political force less than that which resides
in the second, just as a pile of straw in the balance weighs less
than a gold nugget. The farmer or the goatherd does not read social
contracts, or know more than what takes place in his own village. This
is not the class of people who have overthrown absolutism in España,
but that class who are educated in the colleges, and who know the
price of guarantees, and fight for them. We must not depart from
this point of view, if we are to discuss the matter sincerely. The
making of liberals must be necessarily avoided, for in a colony
the words liberal and insurgent are synonymous. The consequence of
the idea will be to admit the principle that each step forward is
a treading backward. It is necessary to circumscribe the education
to primary schools where reading, writing, and arithmetic will be
taught, continuing as at present with one school in each village,
and leaving their direction to the curas. The colleges for males
now existing in Manila must be closed. [12] In English India, whose
educational institutions and free government are of so much weight
with some, there is nothing similar to this, and an Englishman who
wishes to become a lawyer, a notary, a physician, or a military or
civil official, has to go to England for study and graduation--I say
Englishman, for the natives do not even enter into the question.
In the service of arms, they must not rise beyond privates or at the
most corporals. It is much better to make a sergeant or officer from
a Spanish farmer, even though he cannot read and write, than from the
more capable native. On the contrary, the more dexterous and deserving
is the latter, so much greater will be the mistake committed. Here
the one who plays for gain loses. It is less dangerous and more
tolerable to bestow the rank of officer on a very stupid, vicious,
and cowardly fellow.
It is necessary to provide that a Spanish cura be placed in
each village, and it is preferable to leave a village without a
minister rather than to place it in charge of a Filipino secular
priest. Between Filipinas and España there is no other bond of union
than the Christian religion. This bond is very powerful, and may
induce the islanders to love and to defend the Spanish domination as
a duty. In no place better than in España is it known of what the
religious influence on the masses is capable, even in violation of
their most direct interests. To imagine that the natives will become
fond of our government because they judge it good or the best possible,
I believe a vain project. Their ignorance regarding the condition of
other peoples does not permit of their entering into such comparisons;
and those who might be capable of doing it, will discuss political
matters; and however excellent such men consider our domination,
they would always think that it would be more advantageous for them
to withdraw from the yoke and seize the scepter in their own hands,
and pass by this method from their humble condition of vassals and
subjugated to that of masters and mandarins. Therefore, just as the
community is sustained by virtue and the monarchy by fidelity, this
colony, in my opinion, must be maintained by religion. Starting from
this beginning, nothing can become so direct an agent for promoting
emancipation, as the ordaining of priests among the natives. [13] Some
persons observe that they are unfit and vicious, and consequently,
do not infuse respect, exercise influence or cause fear. More, if a
Filipino secular priest lives in a state of intoxication, and even
commits, as has indeed happened, atrocious crimes which lead him to
the scaffold, he does not for this cease to be a priest; and thus he
degrades the class to which he belongs, and undermines the prestige
of sanctity surrounding the character of a religious man. And this
idea, namely, that because they are Filipinos, they cannot have any
influence, has been destroyed by merely the recent insurrection in
Tayabas, where a lay-brother, a young fellow, without any personal or
antecedent quality that could make him respected, was able, by means
of a religious matter--without the printed copies of the admonition
of the archbishop of Manila, or the Spanish friars of the neighboring
territory, being able to prevent it--to cause a settlement to mutiny
and to arm a crowd of three or four thousand men, even to the point of
firing upon their own pastors, who only saved themselves by means of
flight; to kill the governor of the province; and attack the national
troops. And so that my opinion in regard to this matter is, and has
been, that of many others who studied the country, I shall copy a
few extracts illustrative of the matter. [14]
[Mas's first extract is from a communication to the king from
Governor Aguilar, dated November 25, 1804. In this letter, Aguilar
characterizes the native secular priests as lazy and dissolute. He
cites a recent example of a village, evidently previously in charge
of the native seculars, where a Recollect priest has been placed in
charge, and where in consequence the church has been completed and
order preserved. Although there are some good native priests, they
do not infuse the respect that the regulars do, for the latter are
never intimate with their parishioners, while the native priests,
on the other hand, live on an intimate footing with them, and enter
into every detail of their lives. Consequently, the regulars can
manage the natives better than the native secular priests. Again the
religious have no ties, and hence their only care is their church
and their duty. The native seculars are burdened with relatives,
who even live in the curacies with them, and hence, they neglect
their churches which soon fall into ruin. It would be bad indeed
for the islands if the bishops were to transfer the curacies to the
native seculars. That might be done when there are Spanish secular
priests who possess the right qualities, but to transfer them to
the natives would be committing a great wrong. If all the villages
in charge of native secular priests had friar curas, they would be
in a much better condition. In Negros, which is in charge of the
native seculars, nothing is done, a ruinous condition prevails, and
the villages are greatly depopulated. If the matter were left to him,
he would not allow a single native secular priest to have charge of a
village. They might profitably be used as assistants to the regulars.]
[The second letter is one from the Manila Ayuntamiento, dated July
12, 1804. This letter is highly laudatory of the friars, who spare
no pains to fulfil their duties. The native secular priests however,
are only in few instances found efficient, and are in general only
fit to act as assistants to the friar curas. The Filipinos with
their weak intellects, seem unfitted for the office of priest,
by reason of their lack of constancy. They have not the education
requisite for the office of priest, for the conciliar seminaries
are little more than a name in which a few native secular priests,
themselves without sufficient education, attempt to teach. The regulars
subjected to the royal patronage would be much better than any native
seculars. After Mindoro was transferred from the Recollects to the
native seculars, the missions quickly declined, churches were ruined,
Moro raids increased, and the tribute of the villages fell off. In
consequence, the government now wishes to replace the native clergy
by the Recollects. The regulars also further the temporal affairs,
and have done notable things in agriculture. The Ayuntamiento hopes
that the complaints against the regulars will be disregarded, "for
although there are some defects which they may have, they are always
useful to religion and the state."]
[The third citation is from San Agustin's famous letter on the
character of the natives. [15]]
Taking the Christian religion as the foundation upon which
our domination is sustained, it is evident that everything that
contributes to destroy the religious spirit, destroys and undermines
this foundation. Under this idea nothing can have more direct harm
than the degradation and corruption of the minister of divine worship,
and experience has demonstrated this truth. For just as the first
sectarians of Jesus Christ extended his religion rapidly by means of
the enthusiasm which took possession of their minds, and by means of
the martyrdoms which they suffered, so also, in all places where the
priests have given themselves to effeminacy, to feasting, to ambition,
and to vices, the belief of the peoples has diminished from that
moment, and they have ended by falling into religious indifference. The
government ought, then, to consider the clergy as a power; and just as
great care is taken not to introduce insubordination and demoralization
into an army, so also the government ought to watch over the conduct of
the curas. Let them have all the influence possible over the village,
but let them always be Spanish Europeans, and allow them to feel no
other interest than España. This is the vital question. If the matter
be considered under this point of view, one cannot exaggerate the harm
that a goodly portion of the friars are doing, and the moral force
that our government is losing because of the manner in which they are
living. The most general weakness is that of concubinage. Many keep
a mistress (who is there called a stewardess [despensera]), inside
or outside the convent. The convent in Filipinas has no cloister, as
it is a parochial house. And this fault, if one considers the climate
of the country, the circumstances, and the ideas of the natives, is,
to say truth, the most excusable and the least harmful.
The most pernicious and transcendental fault into which many curas have
fallen especially for some time back--a fault ten times more harmful
than the one to which we have referred--is that of avarice, fed by
the practice of trading. It is well known that the mode of trading in
that country usually consists in usury, that is, in advancing money in
order later to receive products in kind at a very low price. And even
leaving aside this aspect of the matter, it happens, as is natural,
that the minister, as soon as he has become a speculator, contrives
to get some profit from his position, and from the influence which
his ministry and the policy indispensable in that country give him,
and thinks little or nothing of the means so long as they conduce to
the increase of his capital. Sometimes this vice is united with the
first, and the stewardess or her husband--who is generally one of the
servants of the convent, whom the friar has married to her, in order
to save appearances--is charged with the gathering, magazines, shops,
sales, etc. But it must be confessed that the government has had a
great part in this corruption, by protecting the religious against
their superiors. Two left during the term of General Lardizabal,
taking a large amount with them. When the Augustinian provincial,
Father Grijalvo, went with his secretary, Father Fausto Lopez, to
see him [i.e., Lardizabal] about one of them (Father Jarava) [16] who
wished to go away with his money, and said provincial asserted to him
that this was a very bad example, as there were many who would devote
their energies to making money, and then leave, although religious are
so necessary in these islands, the said general answered him: "Do not
believe it. You are not so necessary. You are deceived in this. The
English government in India has no friars, and yet that country is
sustained and prospers." Nevertheless, in Singapor, he [i.e., Father
Jarava] boasted in conversation with the good Bishop Courvery (as the
latter mentioned to me) of the gold which he carried; and told him of
the presents which he had had to bestow in Manila in order to obtain
his passport, especially to the assessor of the government. The most
illustrious bishop wrote that to that capital, and on learning it,
the guileless general Lardizabal was angry enough to tear his hair,
as was mentioned by the secretary of the government, Cambronero. [17]
In 1840 they went to inform the alcalde-mayor of a province that
all those who went away with indigo, unless provided with a pass by
the cura, were detained in the bantayan (a kind of sentry-box) of
a village in his jurisdiction. The alcalde ordered the matter to be
investigated, and found it to be so; and some passes were brought to
him, which stated little more or less than "permit So-and-so to pass
with so many quintals of indigo." The reason for this was that the cura
had advanced money to them, and feared that if they carried away the
indigo and sold it, it would afterward be impossible to collect the
money. The alcalde ordered a verbal process to be formulated, in which
two friars and two secular priests made their depositions in the most
effective terms against the cura in question. [The alcalde-mayor wrote
to the vicar of the province, who answered him under date of Batac,
July 25, 1840, to the effect that the freedom given by the government
to the friars, who had been relieved of obedience to their prelates,
accounted for this. The government and the ideas of the present time
were to blame, consequently, not the friar prelates. The friar of
whom the alcalde-mayor and the vicar wrote boasted that when he was
attacked on the one side he took refuge in the jurisdiction of the
other. Although he boasted that he intended to take his 40,000 pesos
and enjoy life with a female companion, yet he obtained governmental
permission to remain in his curacy.] The curas generally suffer
from another defect, namely, that of meddling in temporal matters,
or rather, of endeavoring to abrogate all jurisdictions, and then
assume these in themselves. It is evident that there must be a
limit to everything, and that those friars who display an insolent
spirit and are usurpers of command must restrain themselves within
limits. But this evil is one of the least, if our chief and vital
object be considered to be the conservation of the state. Is it or not
a fact that, for España to maintain this colony under its dominion,
it needs the influence of the religious over the inhabitants? If
it is a fact, one must consider these persons as instruments; their
influence must be positive; the alcaldes and other employes must be
wheels of the machine, who must be in communication with them, and
to a certain point move at their impulse. So long as the villages
obey the voice of the friars, the islands will be Spanish, for the
friars can do no less than be so. Emancipation would inevitably cause
their ruin. This will appear hard and unendurable to many who are
not friends of theoretic intervention, especially among the present
military and civil officers of Filipinas; but I understand it in this
way, and do not see by what other agency a handful of Spaniards can,
at six thousand leguas' distance, and without Spanish troops, keep
obedient a vast and wealthy country, which has need of us for nothing,
in which there are not a few elements of independence, and which is
coveted by many foreign nations.
And if all this is a fact, we can do no less than lament the
unjustifiable imprudence of having printed in the ordinances of good
government now in force, which were printed and distributed throughout
the whole country, the following:
[Here follow ordinances 17, 18, 24, 30, 31, 85, 87, 89, 91 and 92
(some only in part), for a synopsis of which see VOL. I., pp. 234,
235, 236, 238, 239, and 256-261. Mas continues:]
In no part did the animosity with which these ordinances were written
appear so much as in these last two articles, for they treat of
the construction of convents, churches, and royal houses; and since
none of these edifices can be erected without the instructions of a
special measure and by authorization, it follows that the government
is dictating provisions to itself, and consequently, it was quite
useless to insert them in a public law; and although it was intended
that they should contain the expression of the royal will, the latter
would always have been sufficient provided that action were taken
in the proper bureau. Moreover, what ordinance 91 says about the
possibility of the sumptuous convents being used as a shelter by the
enemy, as was experienced in the war with the English, seems to me to
be lacking in common sense. For if they are susceptible of being used
as fortresses, they will be an advantage to those possessing them,
who may, if they wish, burn them when they have to abandon them. In
the same category are all the strongholds. For example, in the war
with the English above mentioned, the latter captured Manila, and
immediately made use of the forts to protect themselves from Anda's
troops. Consequently, according to the argument, the fortifications of
Manila ought to be demolished. If the enemy defend themselves in the
convents, it will be because they have to flee from us, and then we
can desire nothing better than that they shut themselves up, so that
we may surround them and take them prisoners. If the Spaniards are in
such a condition that they look upon the convent as a refuge, they can,
since they are in their own country, get aid at any moment. A large
and beautiful church, in the midst of a village of bamboo or board
houses, contributes not a little to inspire a lofty idea of what is
within it. All the sumptuous edifices of the ancients were temples.
The utility of protecting the religious spirit having been admitted,
the Spaniards of the province, who in general give a contrary example,
by not fulfilling their church duties, do great harm. This is so
much more harmful, as they are in the sight of the entire village,
which knows quite well the actions of their most private life. Finding
myself on the day of Corpus Christi at a place where a large procession
and Church function were being made, not a single Spaniard of the
several who were there, went to mass, including the governor of the
province. For an alcalde not to go to mass, becomes so much the more
scandalous, as it is the custom for the gobernadorcillo with all the
community and past captains to go to get him at the royal house in
order to accompany him as a matter of ceremony to the church.
It happens on account of this that it is enough for them to give
notice of a Spaniard to the cura so that the latter may have the cura
told that he is not at home--a thing which contributes to destroy
the prestige of our name and dominion. Surely, this, joined with
other motives, has contributed to diminish the spirit of devotion,
especially for the last fifteen or twenty years. This decrease is not
imaginary. I have assured myself of it through several channels, among
others, through a house that formerly traded in books of religion and
prints. From this I deduce that our foundations are becoming weaker,
and if they are not strengthened, it may be delayed more or less,
but the edifice will fall. I opine then, that if the colony is to
be conserved, it is absolutely necessary to take positive measures
to check the exterior manifestations of irreligion; to cause the
priests to appear under the most possible venerable point of view;
and to endeavor to have their influence over the masses powerful. One
of the acts to which the curas now see themselves obliged, and which
robs them of great prestige, is the collection of the parochial
fees at marriages and burials. A person who has lost a child or
a parent by death, has in addition to the grief for his loss, the
expense which it occasions. He goes to the cura weeping, and tells
him that he has no money. The cura, nevertheless, must show himself
inexorable; finally the native hands the cura a portion of the sum;
the parish priest bids him go get the part lacking; he returns with
another portion; and after seeing that the pretense of his poverty
avails him nothing, he pays the whole fee. There are some who come
with the money divided into the four corners of their handkerchiefs,
and unwrap them one after the other, trying each time to avoid the
payment. The same thing happens in marriages; and there are many
who live in concubinage waiting until the cura marries them free
of charge. These scenes are very unpleasant to the religious, and
yet, they can do no less than show themselves hard, for if they did
otherwise they would be unable to collect any of the fees which belong
to them and form the greater part of their income. And the worst of
all is, that this money which the cura would lose, would probably not
be used in reproductive investments, but would be spent in feasting
and the cockpit. It would be, then, much more advisable, and very
much to the taste of the religious, to have a general tax imposed,
and collected by the alcalde, as now happens with the sanctorum. [18]
One-half real annually for each soul would be sufficient and would
compensate, as some of them have assured me, for the present sum of
the parochial fees. The display in the ceremony of marriage and burial
ought to be suitable and designated by rules. Those who desired any
music or some extraordinary mourning decorations could pay something
extra. In that way, the parishioners would experience nothing more
from their parish priests than agreeable things--counsel, protection,
and alms.
Since it is very important that the religious, as guides of public
opinion, have essentially Spanish hearts, it is absolutely necessary
for all these men to be born, to have been educated and ordained in
España. From this is deduced the need of protecting the colleges
existing at present, and where friars are made who take a vow for
Filipinas. [19]
Their pride must be entirely broken, and they must in all places
and on all occasions consider the Spaniard as their master, and not
their equal. Our laws of Indias, dictated in the most beneficent,
but not always in the most wise, spirit, not only concede them all
the rights of Spaniards, but seem in several points to prefer them to
the Spaniards, especially in the possession of lands. These benevolent
regulations, often executed with exaggeration by the auditors of the
Audiencia, the protector of the Indians, and the governors-general
who come from España, overflowing with ideas of philanthropy and
humanity, and without knowing the natives otherwise than by their
humble hypocritical exterior with influential persons, have raised
their pretensions to an alarming degree.
[The natives have committed many acts of violence and contempt. A
Recollect cura was beheaded in Talibong, Cebú; the provincial governor
of Negros was assassinated in 1833, and another Spaniard severely
wounded; the alcalde-mayor of Capis was attacked in 1836, but saved
himself by his presence of mind; the house of the alcalde-mayor
of Antique was burned and he barely escaped the flames; another
alcalde-mayor was taken prisoner to Manila in an iron cage; the
cura and government employes were ridiculed in pantomimic dances
in Capan in 1841; a comedy was to have been enacted at the feast-day
celebrations at Santa Cruz, Laguna, in 1840, in which the alcalde-mayor
and his court were to be held up to ridicule, but it was avoided
by the arrest of the actors. It has happened sometimes that the
gobernadorcillo remains seated in the presence of a Spaniard with
whom he has contests in the ayuntamiento. The members of the village
ayuntamientos are not accustomed to rise when a Spaniard enters the
town hall, and even laugh at them; and should the Spaniard grow angry
and strike any of them, complaint is forthwith made to the governor,
who punishes the Spaniard. An artillery captain and an advocate
were stoned without cause in a Laguna village. A Spaniard, angered
by the insolent answer of a native, struck him, whereupon the native
threatened his life. In Manila, the natives are insolent. They do not
yield the sidewalk to Spaniards; coachmen and porters do not rise in
the presence of Spaniards; Filipino women do not yield to Spanish
women either in the stores or the church. Since the new governor,
Oraá, has ordered a verbal process against a commandant for punishing
a servant, they have become more insolent than ever. Other acts of
insolence are noted. These things are not heard of by the governor, or
they lay no stress upon them as they do not recognize their political
importance. "Before the justice, the Spaniards and the Filipinos are
equal." The latter, however, get better treatment from the governors,
who have even punished provincial governors severely, while they have
treated the natives with clemency. The prestige of the Spanish name
must be preserved. "He who merits it must without doubt be punished,
not only for the crime which he commits against humanity and justice,
but also because it obscures the luster of the Spanish character from
which righteousness, benevolence, and liberality ought always shine
forth. But it is advisable that this be among Spaniards, and that no
account or satisfaction of it be given to the natives. Place them
in the way of rights, and they will not pay until driving us from
their soil." It is wrong to treat the native with less severity than
the Spaniard. Mas asserts that in all the countries in which he has
traveled, he has had to exercise patience to no greater degree than in
the Philippines. The insolence and disrespect which he has witnessed
do not allow him to see safety and security for the Spaniards. "It
seems to me that the islands were more secure in the times when a
native got down on his knees when a Spaniard passed." Mas advises that
Spaniards alone be allowed to wear the neckerchief, and that natives
and mestizos be distinguished by the loose shirt and straw hat which
they have chosen themselves. Principales only should be permitted
to wear jackets. The religious have destroyed distinction in rank
among the natives in great measure, but while this is generous and
democratic, "the destruction of rank also destroys the principle of
ambition, the stimulus for economy and work."]
The places of cabezas de barangay must not be hereditary, but these
posts ought to be filled by the most wealthy. Among these people
aristocracy of money has great influence, but not that of family. In
the colony, there must be no noble blood except the Spanish. When the
Filipino or mestizo meets a Spaniard, the former shall be obliged to
stop (except at Manila) to salute him. If seated, he shall rise when
the Spaniard addresses him or passes in front of him. He who raises his
hand against a Spaniard, although it be to defend his own life, shall
incur the penalty of laboring on the public works all his life. If the
offense is verbal, the punishment shall be decreased in proportion to
the case. A Spaniard shall not give a seat in his house to a Filipino
or mestizo, much less sit at table with him. He who falls into this
fault of decorum, shall be punished the first two times by a fine,
and the third time he shall be exiled from the colony. No Spaniard,
under any consideration, shall be allowed to contract marriage with
any Filipino or mestizo woman. The Filipinos or mestizos who desire
to use a carriage or a saddle horse, shall have to obtain a permit
for which an annual tax shall be charged, so that those who sustain
this luxury may be very few. [Mas condemns the custom of giving
the title "Don" to gobernadorcillos and principales. Even almost
naked Tinguianes and Igorots are found with that title--which is
ridiculous. Let the Filipinos use their own native equivalents for
"Don" and "Doña." Also the natives should not be allowed to present
petitions which are disrespectful because of their ignorance of the
language, such as for instance calling the governor a robber.]
Government employes should be well paid, for in a country where
appearances count for so much as in the Philippines, it is not well to
live in a miserly manner. There are no Spanish grandees in the colony,
and but few of the merchants can afford to live luxuriously. Mere
living expenses are cheaper than in Spain, and one could if he
desired save more, but if the natives live better than the ruling
class, there will be a loss of prestige. Better salaries are paid in
the Philippines than in Spain, but this is necessary. The governor,
for instance, must really give some idea of the royal master whom
he is serving, and this can be done through a certain amount of
display. Each official ought to spend at least two-thirds of his pay.
No Spaniard ought to be allowed to go to the provinces who is not of
well-known good behavior, and who does not leave in Manila a bondsman
for the debts which he may contract. Passports are at times given to
poor Spaniards, soldiers, or licensed corporals, for example, who go
through the villages of the interior defrauding, guzzling, entering
the houses of the town in an unbecoming manner, asking perhaps,
food or baggage without paying for them, and finally obliging the
natives to arrest them. The pernicious consequences of these examples
are incalculable.
[In case that the employes of the treasury are decreased in number, and
collections are made by contractors, only natives and Chinese mestizos
should be accepted as such, on account of the odium incurred. The
latter class will probably take the contract, which will result in good
as it will tend to develop race hatred between them and the Filipinos.]
Those races are the ones who make up the population. The one excels and
is strong through its number, and the other through its intelligence,
activity, and wealth. The ability of the government will consist
in keeping them always separated, and at swords' points, in order
that they may never form a common mass or public spirit, but that,
on the contrary, the one may serve as an instrument to subject the
other. Filipinos would rather associate with mestizos than with
Spaniards, for although the first tyrannize over them, and draw them
under the yoke so far as possible, they invite them to dine, and treat
them so that they all appear united. The Spaniards, for the most part,
always talk to them with an air of superiority, and keep them at a
certain distance--a thing which naturally disgusts the Filipino.
[The Filipinos do not, however, like the Chinese any better,
but on the contrary, respect the Spaniards more as coming from a
higher race. They regard the mestizos as a bastard race and beneath
themselves. There are many lawsuits between the two classes for
preference in rank. In villages where there are both mestizos and
natives, each class has its own gobernadorcillo, although that of the
latter has now been declared superior in rank, and in case of the death
or absence of the alcalde-mayor, takes his place. They are jealous of
these privileges, and in case of immediate separation, the mestizos
would not become the dominant force in the country. This rivalry
is useful for Spanish interests and must be preserved. The Chinese
mestizos will within a century have grown to at least one million
by natural increase and immigration from China; and will possess the
greater part of the wealth of the islands. They are the proprietors,
merchants, and educated people of the country, and will dominate public
opinion. This class has no sympathy for Spain and will be difficult to
subdue. Therefore, the moral force of the natives must be preserved,
and the rivalry between the two classes fomented, so that the natives
may not become the vassals of the mestizos. Mas proposes a land tax
on the mestizos and a distinctive dress. Theaters for both natives
and mestizos, where they can rival and ridicule each other will be
helpful. Arts and the prosperity of the country must be stimulated,
for if the natives are left to their natural incapacity and sloth,
they will be in the power of the Chinese mestizos within a century.]
[A Spanish force of at least one thousand or five hundred men is
needed. If the native soldiers mutiny, nothing can restore discipline
unless there is a Spanish force. Some of the governors have opposed
even Spanish corporals and sergeants. The country seems quiet but
a terrible mutiny and revolt may occur any day. There were only
Spanish soldiers in the old days, and respect was more manifest. Native
regiments are of modern date. The disreputable regiment of Asia made up
largely of criminals has caused the Spanish soldiers to lose prestige
among the natives. And besides they have been wretchedly treated. It
would be well to have soldiers from Borneo or other islands outside the
archipelago. If the British do not object, men might even be enlisted
cheaply in India. This would relieve the natives from service, from
which they would gladly be free; and the country would be more secure,
and more prosperous.]
[The principales should be allowed to hold meetings only in the
presence of the cura. It is well known that they plot against the
alcalde-mayor and the cura at times when they assemble for any
common matter.]
The Spanish language ought not to be taught them, but they ought
to learn to read and write in their own. It is impossible to avoid
the introduction of papers and books into the provinces which it is
unadvisable for them to read, and experience demonstrates that those
who know our language, are almost always the restless ones of the
villages and those who murmur at, censure, and act contrary to the
curas and alcaldes.
[It is folly to teach the natives how to make artillery and
firearms. Factories for the manufacture of these are now being
finished in the islands. It would be better to send everything of
this nature from Spain. Another imprudence is the manufacture of
powder. Besides its inferiority to Spanish powder, and the danger of
allowing the natives to learn to make it, it costs more than that sent
from Spain. Although after the delivery of twelve thousand quintals,
the factory and its effects are to become national property, the
works which are now not worth more than ten thousand pesos, will
be worthless.]
[Mas recommends the use of steam vessels for inter-island
communication, for the rapid moving of troops, and the better
protection of Spanish interests. They can also be used against the
Moros [20] with better effect than the small squadron of sailing
vessels now employed, and will be more economical. Coal and wood
abound in the islands and can be used as fuel.]
The publication of a newspaper shall be permitted under the supervision
of the government. In them shall be inserted descriptions of the
best methods of making sugar, indigo, etc., dyeing thread, tempering
iron, and in fact everything that may conduce to the instruction of
agriculture and manufacture; the edicts and orders of the government;
and political news, both peninsular and foreign, edited in the manner
that is found advisable. [All the village ayuntamientos shall be
compelled to subscribe to such a paper, and the cura shall be asked
to translate into the native vernacular all useful articles. Foreign
papers are admitted without any charge, and prove, instead of a
benefit, an injury, for they are all democratic in tone, and foment
disorder and discontent.] The non-existence of newspapers in Filipinas
causes a very bad result among foreigners, who consider them and with
reason, the foremost mark of civilization, and at the same time, the
government is deprived of the advantage of guiding public opinion. [21]
A system of police must be established, especially in the capital. Not
many years ago, there was a commission of public vigilance, which
was abolished, I believe, during the government of General Camba. The
neglect of the captains-general in this regard at present is scarce
credible.
[Although China has caused and will cause trouble in the future,
still the salutary punishments that the Chinese have received, and
the rapid increase in the Filipino population, justify the admission
into the islands of 15,000 or 20,000 more Chinese, on the basis
that there are only 8,000 or 10,000 now in the islands. These can
be scattered through the islands and would work only on the estates
of Spaniards.] Twenty thousand Chinese could work 10,000 quiñons of
land, which planted with sugar cane would yield annually 2,000,000
picos of sugar. This sugar sold at Manila at only 3 pesos fuertes
[per quintal] would produce the sum of 6,000,000 pesos fuertes. [In
case of a popular insurrection the Chinese would all side with the
government and if an attack were threatened from China, it would be
sufficient to turn them over to the Filipinos, who, because of their
hatred for them, on account of their superior industry, would soon
make short work of them.]
[Foreigners are useful because of their knowledge and capital, and
create much wealth for the islands through their continued traffic
with their own countries. But their presence does not promote the
conservation of the colony.] Formerly the feeling against this class of
persons was very pronounced, owing in great measure to the religious,
who always spoke of the English, Dutch, etc., as heretics, drunkards,
and barbarians. The antipathy thus engendered was highly important,
in case of an outside attack. [The natives are now friendly to
foreigners, who pay more liberally than Spaniards, and even Spaniards
at Manila are aping the English and are friendly to them. Undesirable
books have and will surely be introduced through the foreigners; and
consequently, the laws forbidding them to go to the provinces must
be enforced, and entrance to Manila must not be easy. La Place, the
Frenchman, although he wrote many inaccurate things of the islands,
[22] recognized the danger from foreigners, when speaking of the
slaughter of the foreigners in 1819 during the cholera.]
3rd. The administration requires a complete reform. The command of
Filipinas has always been entrusted to a governor and captain-general,
as if it were a province of España. To set some balance to his
power, because of the distance from the throne, certain privileges
and preeminences have been granted to other persons, especially to
the Audiencia, even to the point of making of the latter a court of
appeal against the measures of the chief of the islands. Besides, the
revenues have been removed from his jurisdiction, and the office of
the intendant has been constituted, who obeys no others than the orders
communicated to him by the ministry of the treasury from Madrid. [23]
It is very obvious that this single point is quite sufficient to
paralyze completely the action of the governor-general. Besides,
since there are many matters which require to be passed on by distinct
ministries, it happens that two contrary orders touch the same matter,
or that one order is lacking, which is enough to render its execution
impossible, the contingency moreover arising that a chief may detain
a communication, even after he has received it, if it does not suit
him. This system of setting obstacles in the way of the governor of a
distant colony is wise and absolutely necessary, but since the Leyes
de Indias are not a constitutional code, but a compilation made in
the year 1754 [24] of royal orders despatched at various epochs and by
distinct monarchs, in which are decided points of government, justice,
war, politics, revenue, procedure, etc., there results rather than
a balance among the various departments of authority a confusion of
jurisdictions, the fatal fount of eternal discord. [Mas cites laws
from Leyes de Indias showing the great confusion and contrariety
of the orders to governor and Audiencia. This confusion has given
rise to scandalous and tragic events because of the contests over
authority. During these latter years have occurred many offenses of
like nature. General Enrile had them with the intendant, and General
Camba mentions several during the period of his government. To
these difficulties, is added another, in order that the chariot may
run right and easily; the government of the provinces is in charge
of an alcalde-mayor, [25] who is at once judge of first instance,
chief of the political matters, subdelegate of the treasury, and
war captain or military commandant, for whose different attributes
he is subject to authorities distinct from one another. This appears
inconceivable, but yet it is a fact, although the cleverness of our
India legislators has not been so great that it could free the system
of the inconveniences which necessarily must obstruct it.
Whatever difficulty occurs in the fulfilment of an order, it must be
solved by means of a conference and advice [consulta], [26] from which
a reply is not obtained until from twelve to fourteen months. These
difficulties are more frequent in Filipinas than in a province of the
Peninsula, because of the lack of knowledge of the country generally
possessed by the ministers who dictate the measures. Things have gone
so far that it has been ordered that the cultivation of the balate
(a fish) be encouraged; and that the situado of Zamboanga be sent
overland, because of the loss of the ship which was carrying it across
to the island of Mindanao, where D. Infantes was then governing said
presidio. The superintendent Enriquez says in the document which he
printed on leaving his post in 1836, [27] that in the short period in
which he filled the superintendency, he sent to the court six hundred
and twenty-seven questions for resolution. And to these springs of
torpor in the administration of the government, we must add that
the captains-general scarcely decide any question whatever, without
handing the matter for report to the assessor, fiscal, Audiencia, etc.,
because of the distance and impossibility of consulting España, and
through their fear of compromising themselves, since on many occasions,
measures have been obtained against them in Madrid, through agents and
representatives or through complaints sent from the islands. The same
thing happens with regard to the intendant and other authorities. From
this practice arises the system of expedientes [28] which reigns,
and which is so fatal to the prosperity and good government of the
country, since very often the arrangement that appears good to some,
is contrary to the opinions or interests of others. [Expedientes
lasting for years have been formulated for matters requiring immediate
attention. For instance, one lasting for years was formulated in
regard to an expedition against the Moro pirates. An expediente is
formed when a foreigner arrives at Manila without a passport from
Spain and asks permission to remain in the country, although the law
on this point is explicit. Thus much valuable time is lost and the
expedientes result in only a waste of paper, besides great injury
to the islands. The governor often has to conform to the opinions
expressed in the expediente, although he knows they will be the cause
of injustice. [29] On the other hand, the governor is often directly
at fault, because he enforces his own opinion on his assessor, who has
often obtained his position through favoritism and is not a lawyer,
and decides questions according to the will of the governor. Besides,
the governor has the armed force at his disposal. The chiefs of
the various departments at Manila carry on correspondence with
the directors-general of their respective departments in Madrid,
without the knowledge of the governor, a fact that increases the
confusion and disorder. The director of the mails even is at fault
in this, and renders accounts to the general post-office department
in Spain.] A sub-inspector of engineers newly created, just went to
Manila with orders to extend the fortifications of the capital to
its suburbs. The suburbs contain about fifty thousand inhabitants
scattered throughout various villages which are composed of houses
all of one story in height, which is enough to give an idea of the
extension of the imagined fortification. The amount of artillery for
garrisoning their walls, the workshop necessary to keep the artillery
in good condition, the garrison necessary for their defense, besides
the operating gangs: all were to be in the greatest magnitude, and
demand an annual expense which the treasury of the colony could not
even remotely meet. And if one reflect that the enemy can take all the
other islands and even disembark at any point of Luzon itself without
the necessity of going to Manila; that if this capital were besieged,
it would be by enemies coming by sea, and hence, being masters of the
port, they would very quickly take by hunger a place of one hundred and
fifty thousand souls, or indeed it would be surrendered by the natives,
and then the inhabitants, instead of contributing to the defense,
would open their doors to the aggressors; and that the concentration
of the forces, the property, the archives, and public and private
wealth, at one single enclosed point, is to form a target to call
the attention of exterior and interior enemies: we can do no less
than agree that the plan of extending the fortifications of Manila
to all its suburbs lacks all reasonable foundation, and that it will
be advocated only by the many people who possess houses on the shores
of the Pasig River, within cannon range, because of their fear lest,
if the events of 1762 are again repeated, all those edifices which
they were by a fatal lack of foresight permitted to raise successively
(an evil which it is now very difficult if not impossible to remedy),
would be leveled to the ground.
[However, the present condition of the treasury will not allow this
plan to be executed. The sub-inspector of the artillery has petitioned
that all companies of the regiment be commanded by captains of the
staff. This would cause discontent among the subalterns who would
see all hope of promotion vanish forever. They can rise now only to
captain, and some of them are even now angry. The artillery corps
has always been loyal to the government and it is advisable to keep
it so. Officers might indeed be trained in the military college,
but in that case the promotion of the sergeants must be arranged
for. Complaints of the military in the Philippines mean more than they
do in Spain where the complainers are retired or exercise patience. But
this substitution may be made without consulting the governor, as it
is a matter concerning the artillery itself.]
In the various departments of the administration there may also be
abuses to examine or correct, which will never be known or exactly
proved by chiefs resident in Madrid, because of the distance which is
so favorable to the distortion of facts. For example, the brigadier of
the navy, Don J. Ruiz de Apodaca, told me before the sub-inspector
of artillery and another chief that all the articles which were
bought by the treasury for the arsenal, were charged at a much
higher price than those for the fort, etc., and he invited me to go
to his house where he would prove it to me with the documents. On
the other side, I have heard complaints that after a contract had
been made with the treasury for cables, iron, etc., it is impossible
to get a receipt for them in the arsenal, unless for a bonus; that
quantities of timber will not be receipted for and those who have
transported it to Cavite have to sell it at any price; and that it
is bought by the very ones who have qualified it as useless; that
many houses have been built in Cavite with the timber given out as
no good, only with the object of making new bargains. Don F. Ossorio
told me in the house of the secretary of the government, and in the
presence of several respectable persons, that when he was commandant
of artillery at that place, he made all the furniture of his house
with wood which he bought in the arsenal as firewood. It is a fact
that naval construction is very dear, and that the fragata "Esperanza"
cost more than 600,000 pesos fuertes. During my stay in the islands,
there has been talk of trickery in the outlay of tobacco, besides a
defalcation in the magazines of three thousand eight hundred bundles
of leaf. It was declared that there was introduced, for example, into
the factory magazines, a quantity of bundled tobacco, in which was one
part composed of fillers [palos] which had to be burned as useless; but
if these fillers amounted to five thousand arrobas, only four thousand
were destroyed. The other thousand arrobas were taken out as leaf of
the best brand [from the magazines] and was carried to private houses
where it was manufactured as contraband. This leaf was replaced by the
fillers which ought to have been burned. For that reason, the cigars
which were sent to the tobacco shops of the provinces, and even those
which were sold to the trade, were sometimes of the worst quality;
that the boxes were short weight; that choice lots were finished with
care, and marked with a mark, and papers were given authorizing the
exchange of tobacco in the factory, by which means the associates in
these speculations could buy the poor tobacco which was given to the
public, and leave it in the national magazines, taking in place of
it, that manufactured properly and reserved. But what I know to be
a positive fact in this matter is that few or many superior or fine
boxes were made, which were obtained by favor in Manila; and that when
Don Luis Urrijola [30] left the intendancy, the tobacco had lost its
credit, and nine thousand boxes were held in the magazines, which no
merchant then or since has cared to buy. The new superintendent, Don
J. M. de la Matta took direct and positive measures by separating the
magazine from the factory, and reducing the functions of the latter
to the manufacture only, etc., whereupon the requests for the new
tobacco were renewed, so that when I left Manila, it was impossible
by a great amount to meet the demands of the trade. But had it not
been for the providential appointment to the superintendency of said
clever and zealous employe, perhaps that revenue would have entirely
ceased. This is one of the foremost resources of that country, and
the governor-general would at this moment find himself, perhaps, in
the greatest straits, and it would be impossible to prevent the evil,
although he knew its origin and progress, as he had no intervention in
the department of the treasury, which is, nevertheless, the soul of all
government. In the same place I also heard talk of the sale of posts,
of abuses in the pay of vouchers and other matters. [These things
may be misrepresentation or calumny, but they are ever increasing in
force and are being repeated with exaggeration--which tends to weaken
Spanish prestige which is the source of their moral strength.]
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough
to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital
defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a
government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism
and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through
itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude,
power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan
circumscribed on fundamental bases. [31]
[Mas's plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons,
one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the
governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in
case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy,
shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the
country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be
decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by
all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and
all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries,
political and military, shall receive orders only from the president,
and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The
president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and
execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressing
whether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall
send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the
day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or
without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it
in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily
tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and
encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will
obviate any such tendency on the president's part, and will remove
the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for
a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a
superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council
of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together
with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor
of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop
of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council
which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled
to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the
president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute
shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint
a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular
appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of
the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and
the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then
retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents
acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president,
if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall take his
place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may
be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a
clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the
members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall
obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]
The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates,
or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be
a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance,
the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very
lineage make him appear superior to all the others.
[The dissension manifest in Basco's term as governor was due to
his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to
the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an
excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know
the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also
was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in
the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of
governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A
grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than
a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to
the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money,
and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles
to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and
industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and
look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations,
and the progress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to
choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.]
[For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed
from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in
the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments
with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of
provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case
of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month,
so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall
meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments
of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors
of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the
substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency,
and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]
The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of
first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of
the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This
centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the
economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear
when there is one supreme authority in the islands.
The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include
both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of
the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the
Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse
of appeal.
The superior court of justice shall be composed of three persons,
one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil,
and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal
may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint
three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint
judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of
appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or
by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly
preferred for this if there is one in the regency.
[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of
the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct
the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however,
being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled
provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made
from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made
by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of
the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary
independent of the government.]
[In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the
provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes
for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant
even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in
the islands, and breeds discontent.]
[This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall
have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of
Manila and the house at Malacañang; the two regents shall each receive
6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house; and the substitute
4,000 pesos--a total of 30,000 pesos. [32] Posts of rank in Manila
have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general,
a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and
commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been
appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many
military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos' pay acts as
second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats;
and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only
two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers,
and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of
at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be
saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons,
who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the
present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as
a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a
total saving of 31,000 pesos.]
[Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the
colonies, [33] through whom all the communications of the regency shall
pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues,
and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily
concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would
not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]
Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which,
in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies
in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase
of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile
and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I
have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest
to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds
to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible
to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The
treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on
the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury for over
three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is
no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is,
in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over--in the first place
because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or
from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs
among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of
here, and which may precipitate their ruin.
After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing
that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider
the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate
it and prepare it for giving it liberty.
In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary,
to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief
object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the
relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted,
that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels
or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the
Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of
naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens
them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony
separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage
public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject
to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine,
surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide
the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the
Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, and the Filipinos
shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military
corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and
general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be
subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax
is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of
new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed
by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be
taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals
per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each
adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in
the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall
be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races,
favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single
women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries
a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries
a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries
a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese
mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard,
2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or
4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces
shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief
goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter's
equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and
the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from
the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by
marriage in such manner that when free of the Castilian dominion
should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they
would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be
practically impossible.
After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed
off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in
order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months
every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs,
especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time
of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without
fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be
established--probably some constitutional form analogous to those of
Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.
My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is
the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend,
much less propose.
I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of
the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I
cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation,
decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great
measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in
having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only
of literary or political education, but of that general education,
which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education
which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best
cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greater or less
number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by
which to gage the power of empires.
A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the
following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the
increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects
by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a
second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population
(such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen's land and New Zealand);
finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products
of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern
colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the
Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall
not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary,
some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have
no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless,
for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has
the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct
communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz
consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the
tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually
would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between
both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich
market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and
England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a
century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it
will be necessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas
is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss
of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the
islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch,
or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all
unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to
Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos
on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed;
but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects
any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their
own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of
the population should desire to remain under Spain's domination, that
is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion,
if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are
losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with
in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed
through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining
our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time
to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the
benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of
universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the
midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present,
the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the
measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction)
will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the
loss of considerable property and many lives of European Spaniards and
Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful,
and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the
first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly
printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors
belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies,
would have to say at least this once: "The Spaniards crossing new
and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering
the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and
established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed
it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with
laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended
them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors;
they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty." [34]
MATTA'S REPORT, 1843
Communication from the intendant of the army and treasury [Intendente
de Ejercito y Hacienda] of the Filipinas Islands, Don Juan Manuel de
la Matta, [35] to the governor and captain-general of said islands,
Don Marcelino Oraá, in regard to the moral condition of the country
after the insurrection of a portion of the troops of the third
regiment of the line, which happened at daybreak of the twenty-first
of last January; and declaration of the chief legislative reforms,
and of the peremptory measures of precaution and security, demanded
by said condition.
[The recent disaffection of a portion of the Philippine troops
has caused the government to issue instructions in case of the
occurrence of any excitement, insurrection, or alarm in the city
of Manila and its environs. Matta, on receiving these instructions,
has transmitted secretly to the commander of the revenue guard [36]
(whom he has advised in case of any danger to assemble all his command
in the tobacco factory of Binondo) the portion of the instructions that
concerns him. Also the forces of the station of San Fernando are to be
embarked on the boats in the river belonging to the revenue guard, and
placed in command of the port captain. In addition to the instructions
above cited, it seems advisable, "considering the moral condition of
the country, to adopt radical measures to avoid the evil before having
to punish it, thereby to shelter the colony from new seditions, which
cannot be repeated without imminent risk of sad consequences." The
suppression of the attempts of the insurgents and the calming of
Manila was due to the loyalty of the artillerymen quartered at the
fort of Santiago and the presence of other loyal troops.]
The sedition of Apolinario [37] in the province of Tayabas, at the
end of October, 1841, and the insurrection of part of the third
regiment of the line, which occurred in the capital at daybreak
of January 21, [38] have in little more than one year placed these
important possessions at the verge of a terrible civil war, and have
compromised great interests.
[The discipline of the third regiment of the line before the
insurrection was poor, a fact that was attributed, among other
things, to the bad condition of the barracks. On the other hand,
a corps composed of native troops recruited from Manila and the
neighboring places remained loyal, and was used to good effect
in putting down the insurrection. In the opinion of many, native
troops officered by Spaniards (even to the sergeants and corporals)
would prevent disaffection in the future, and be much better than
Peninsular troops. In this treatise it is Matta's purpose to set forth
"the measures by which the tranquillity of these inhabitants and
the conservation of this precious portion of the Spanish monarchy,
will be conserved in the future." The moral condition of the islands
is most delicate and merits the close attention of the government,
"and most especially of your Excellency, to whom is chiefly confided
the tranquillity and conservation of these important possessions--which
now demand radical administrational and economic reforms that will
permit the development of the wealth of their fertile soil, and
the welfare of all their inhabitants; and peremptory measures of
foresight and security, which will render those advantages lasting,
keep the country loyal, and inalterably bind the union of the islands
with the mother-country." In consequence of the civil wars in Spain,
the Spanish government has been compelled to draw heavy sums against
the treasury of the Philippines, by which not only has the treasury
been exhausted but a debt of more than four million pesos incurred--a
debt that cannot be met for years, "both because the needs of the
colony are increasing annually, and because the remainder left
from the revenues, after covering the ordinary obligations of the
budgets, is almost all spent in tobacco leaf, which is sent for the
consumption of the mother-country, in accordance with the orders of
the government." In regard to the military defense of the country,
conditions are as bad. "There are but few arms and they are in poor
shape. The provinces are undefended. The army is composed almost
exclusively of natives, and they are so few in number that the army
is insufficient to defend the capital and fort of Cavite in case of
a foreign invasion." Indeed, in case of invasion it might be best to
raze the fortifications built at the expense of so great sacrifices.]
In general there is to be seen considerable indifference, and even
disaffection, to Peninsular interests. Ideas of emancipation are
sheltered in many bosoms. Discontent swarms in all places. It is
given utterance with effrontery, and is developed and fomented
in various manners. Since the beginning of the colony, boldness,
deceit, and acrimonious speech have had a foremost seat, but greed
is today the dominant passion in the white people. Their needs are
many and there are few means of satisfying them. The hot climate
especially contributes to captiousness, and the development of vehement
passions. A multitude of jealous, complaining, and evil-intentioned men
foment the discontent, to which also pusillanimous persons contribute
by their indiscreet and excessive fear. Although by means of different
passions, there is a manifest tendency to constantly discredit the
dispositions of the government, to attack maliciously the authorities
who represent it, and to foment rivalry and discord among them, to
which both the complexity of the legislation and the burning climate
lend themselves. Thus all concur in weakening the prestige that
gives force to the government. The malcontents have the necessary
time to gather new proselytes, to consolidate a faction against the
mother-country, to prepare the will of the masses; and they await the
time and opportunity for the realization of their desires. This plan
is not in writing, but is engraved in the hearts of those who direct
it, shows itself by its works, and is the result of the tendency of
the age, of the calamitous circumstances in which the mother-country
finds itself, and of the kind of abandonment in which these important
possessions are held.
[Notwithstanding the royal order of April 25, 1837, prohibiting
publications that might disturb public order and weaken the prestige
of the government, such publications have circulated freely in Manila,
thus increasing the discontent. In such publications the followers
of Apolinario are called innocent, and the execution of the rebels
in the camp of Alitao has been termed assassination. All things have
combined to destroy in Manila "the prestige and moral force that have
been hitherto the principal foundation of our domination."]
[Although the provinces are not yet so greatly disaffected as is
Manila], their moral condition is very different from that when they
generally pronounced against the English in 1762 and gave the victory
to Anda. Mejico belonged to España, and its treasury contributed
to the support of the islands, which had the exclusive benefit of a
traffic which the public especially valued, and whose conservation
was inseparable from union to the mother-country. North-American
independence and the French revolution had not yet come to fix the
future destiny of all the colonial possessions of the world. [39]
The regular clergy, the principal base of our domination, then
exercised an influence over the inhabitants, which time has almost
entirely vitiated. Little care is taken for the instruction of their
members, from which it results that some of them with their gross
manners, stupid pretensions, and exactions from the chiefs of the
provinces, and the gobernadorcillos and notables of the villages,
occasion anger, quarrels, and discord which disturb the quiet of the
inhabitants, distract and embarrass the authorities, and nourish those
indiscreet and tenacious struggles in which all lose, and which have
contributed so greatly to the rapid undermining of the base of our
power in the provinces. The mistrust of a sad future leads many of
them to engage in commercial business, and conduces to avarice and
to a worldly life, so that they have lost their religious prestige,
without gaining the respect and the consideration due to eminent and
beneficent citizens. Without doubt there are respectable men among the
individuals of the regular clergy, who, superior to circumstances,
devote themselves entirely to the fulfilment of the duties of
their sacred ministry; who as true fathers of their parishioners,
look carefully after their comfort and welfare; and who, for that
reason possessing their esteem, are, consequently, one of the chief
supports of the action of the government in the villages. It is with
reference to these that I have remarked in another place that both
religion and policy recommend them. Let all be placed in the same
category, and let strict watch be put on the instruction and conduct
of the parish priests, in which, truly, there is much to correct;
and the happiness of the provinces will be secure, if, in addition,
the improvements demanded by the state of civilization and of wealth
in some of the provinces, and by the genius and circumstances of the
various races inhabiting them, and the differences of the times in
which we are living, are made in their government and administration.
For that purpose it must be kept in mind that ambition is wont to
affect the Spanish people transplanted to these distant and hot climes;
that arrogant presumption is the distinctive characteristic of their
descendants; and we must consider duly the characteristic qualities
of the natives.
As I have remarked to your Excellency on a different occasion, I
consider the moral picture of the Indian as very difficult to draw,
for frequently one finds united in him abjectness and ferocity,
timidity and a wonderful fearlessness and courage in danger,
and indolent laziness and slovenliness combined with industry and
avaricious self-interest. It is impossible to represent exactly under
one single stroke all the phases of their contradictory character. But
in general the Indian is pacific, superstitious, indolent, respectful
to authority, heedless, distrustful, and deceitful. Dominated by his
first sensations, and most fertile in expedients to extricate himself
from difficulties, or to carry out his design at a moment's notice,
he must be considered as a minor who follows the dictates of his
own will; and, as such, he must be directed for his own good, his
difficulties must be forestalled, corrected and punished. The natives
are also spiteful and revengeful when they believe themselves offended;
and at such times, hiding their ill-will under the veil of a deceitful
humility, they await the opportunity for satisfying it, and generally
give rein suddenly to their ill-will with perfidy and ferocity.
[The contradictory character of the Filipino native explains the ease
with which a large province can be governed by one official with the
aid of the parish priests and two or three dozen soldiers; while, on
the other hand, the insurance companies of India refuse to stand the
risks of mutiny in a vessel employing half a dozen natives from Manila
in its crew. The natives know no middle path between abject respect
and insolent contempt, in their attitude toward the whites. In case
of a foreign or internal war the governors or alcaldes-mayor of the
provinces would be the least capable of directing affairs, because
of their ignorance of the native languages and customs, and because
they are in continual conflict with the natives over the collection of
the tribute, while at the same time they exercise a monopoly in trade.]
For a very long period the elements of discord among the authorities
have been numerous for lack of a special and analogous legislation,
enacted with regard to the genius and circumstances of the various
peoples inhabiting these islands and the enormous distance separating
them from the mother-country. During these latter years, there have
been heaped up on this unfavorable foundation the elements emanating
from the civil war which has covered the mother-country with mourning,
and those of our own political dissensions; the development and
tendencies of the revolutionary principles common to all the colonial
possessions of the world, and which only force, supported by the
interest of self-preservation, is capable of restraining; and lastly
the impressions which it has been impossible to keep from transmission
to the natives and other races, in proportion as the knowledge of our
language becomes general to them, and as they become civilized, and
contract our tastes and necessities through the increase of commerce
and industry, and observe from anear the confusion resulting from
our lack of harmony. This is, in my opinion, the chief cancer of this
body politic, and will finish it very speedily unless your Excellency,
acting with the discretion and the energy so strongly charged in the
laws, and especially in the royal order of April 25, 1837, apply the
remedy peremptorily demanded by our situation.
[Discord and confusion and the spirit of resistance are rife throughout
the provinces. The events of 1820 and 1823, the sedition of Apolinario
in October, 1841, and the mutiny of the troops, although different
in their origin, all exhibit the "perfidy and ferocity that always
accompany movements of color in Ultramar." The prestige of the
government is weakened, which formerly was, with religion, the chief
foundation of Spanish domination. The political factions that have
arisen in the last six years, and which are now perfectly organized,
are greatly to blame. The Peninsulars and Spanish Filipinos will
end by destroying each other if the fitting remedy is not speedily
applied. In a report made to the government after the sedition of
Apolinario had been put down, Matta said that the origin of the
confraternity consisted "only in the character of the superstition
which distinguishes these natives, who most readily believe whatever
is presented to them under the veil of religion and of the marvellous;
asserted that it became fanaticism as soon as measures were taken
against Apolinario and his confreres, and that it became a declared
sedition when the unfortunate Ortega attacked them in Ygsaban with more
valor than prudence; and that from that time presenting the appearance
of a near insurrection in the neighboring provinces, it is to be
feared that it would have been converted into a revolution capable
of compromising the conservation of these important possessions had
not the seditious ones been promptly defeated and severely punished
in Alitao." Matta's report also said that probably Apolinario's
expulsion from the hospital of San Juan de Dios in Manila, and the
measures taken against his associates, together with the suggestions
of the adherents of independence, contributed to the holding of the
novena in Tayabas in spite of the precautions taken by the military
and ecclesiastical authorities. These occurrences were principally
the effect of superstition and fanaticism; and although the ideas of
emancipation have been present in the Philippines, as in all colonies
since the Spanish-American revolution, yet ideas of emancipation
are limited in the islands to a few Spaniards who do not even form a
political party, but only a crowd of complainers who are either not
government employees, or are employees who take it ill that Spaniards
are sent from the Peninsula to fill offices that they believe belong
properly to themselves. [40] The ideas of emancipation have not yet
contaminated, nor will they in a long time contaminate the Chinese, the
Chinese mestizos, Spanish mestizos, or the natives, with the exception
of a few of the "secular clergy, as insignificant because of their
ignorance and few resources as by their lack of influence among their
countrymen." Whatever be the opinions of the influential Spaniards
born in the islands, they recognise that political upheavals would be
as fatal to themselves as to the Peninsulars. In the insurrection of
last January, among the six white officers assassinated or wounded,
three of those killed and one wounded belonged to the revolting
regiment, while the two remaining who were wounded were Europeans. The
safety of all lies in the stability of the government; but it must
be noted that events are daily more serious and that the discontent
is spreading. Important reforms are necessary, but matters must be
viewed only in the light of the public cause. "Without virtues there
can be no prestige; and, without prestige, it will also be impossible
for the lesser part to dominate the great whole." The conservation
of the islands depends on "radical reforms in their legislation,
and peremptory measures of precaution and security." Such reforms are:]
1st. The formation of a special law for these islands, analogous
and framed with reference to the genius and circumstances of the
various peoples inhabiting them, and to their great distance from
the mother-country. [Matta believes in a law that will outline
the duties of the governor and captain-general, and place under
his general supervision real heads of the various departments of
government, who shall be responsible. A Colonial Council or Cabinet
for consultation on affairs of general public interest should also be
formed. This separation of duties into specific classes, the heads
of each department to be subordinate to the governor, in accordance
with law ii, título ii, book iii, will ensure the right use of the
governing functions. To continue so many unconnected duties under
the governor will only add to the confusion.]
2d. The improvement of the government and administration of the
provinces by organizing them with reference to their present state
of civilization and wealth. For they cannot now, without serious
inconveniences, without transcendental harm, have the government,
judicial, military and revenue functions, together with commercial
occupations and cares, united under one person alone. [The system of
placing one person in command of all these departments is opposed to
civilization and to the mercantile spirit that has penetrated into
the provinces. Civil governors should be appointed who should have
charge of the government, administration of justice, and the promotion
of the welfare of the inhabitants. Such governors should have learned
the native tongue and should know something of the native manners and
customs. The collection of tributes should not be entrusted to them,
and their posts should be permanent, except for transfers, promotions,
and suspension by the governor and captain-general, or sentence by
the suitable tribunal. This will give such provincial chiefs the
necessary prestige, in accordance with the royal order of December
10, 1839. In the provinces, passion often takes the place of reason,
and anything at all can be justified because of the facility with
which the natives contradict and perjure themselves. The position of
the provincial chief demands that his authority be very vigorous and
held in respect. The native must be kept respectful by tact, justice,
punishment, and energy. Jueces pesquisidores [41] and judges to take
the residencia should not be sent to the provinces, as that tends to
weaken the authority of the provincial chief. Easy recourse can be
had in the provinces to the tribunals and superior authorities of the
islands, while the natives and Chinese can appeal to their protectors,
who are generally very zealous in their behalf.]
3rd. The suppression of the colleges of Santo Tomas, San Jose, [42]
and San Juan de Letran of this capital, and the conciliar seminaries
of the bishoprics, as perpetual nurseries of corruption, laziness, or
subversive ideas, as contrary to the quiet and welfare of the villages
as to peninsular interests. [The suppression of the last three can be
made at once, and they should be replaced with schools of agriculture,
[43] arts, [44] and commerce, which will conduce to the prosperity of
the colony. As regards Santo Tomas, inasmuch as immediate suppression
would anger the Spaniards and Chinese mestizos who have control of
almost all the capital of the islands, a new plan should be adopted by
which desire to attend it would be gradually decreased until it can be
suppressed without any trouble. Sensible Spaniards generally believe
that the suppression of these institutions would conduce to the good
of the islands and of Spain. From them come the swarms of ignorant
and vicious secular priests, and the pettifogging lawyers, who stir
up so much trouble among the natives, and cause the provincial chiefs
so great inconvenience. Although not much attention is paid to this
class, they are the most vicious and worthless in the islands. Public
convenience demands the teaching of agriculture, the arts, and
commerce, instead of the theology and law to which the institutions
above mentioned are devoted. It should not be forgotten that the
Spanish-American revolutions were fostered by curas and lawyers,
who since they know both the native language and Spanish, have great
influence with the masses. The influence of the friar parish priests
is now very much weakened, for they have almost entirely abandoned the
spiritual administration to their native assistants. These assistants,
by working on the superstitious character of the natives, can rouse
them to any act that will satisfy their own desires for vengeance.]
4th. The eternal abolition of the sentences of residencia, to which,
as governors, the captains-general of the provinces of Ultramar are
still subject. [These sentences have been of no use to the inhabitants
of the islands, but on the contrary of great harm. Appeal lies to
the Audiencia from the judicial acts of the governor, and to the
Spanish court from his purely administrational acts. The free press,
in which all things are bruited, is also of great use. Communication
with Spain is now frequent. The governor and the chief of the treasury
have been divested of almost all governmental authority through the
residencia. The judicial and contentious have invaded everything
and obscured the action of the provincial chiefs as well as the
superintendent and intendant and the governor. The chief authorities
of the islands need more energy and freer action.]
5th. [The adoption of various other legislative and economic measures
which Matta has before proposed to the government.]
[Capitalists and workers are needed in the islands, but, in order
to attract them, there must be governmental and administrational
reforms. The natives must be considered and various reforms made
concerning them, and the heavy tribute on the Chinese must be
reduced to not more than the twelve reals per annum for those
engaging in agriculture. The public wealth of the islands must be
increased. Whites, Chinese, and mestizos must be encouraged to go
to the islands in greater numbers, in order to correct the laziness
of the natives, and, by their wealth and prestige, to offset the
numerical majority of the natives. The increase of consumers in
the islands will give a greater outlet to Spanish products from the
Peninsula. The revenues must be increased in proportion to the public
wealth, in order to sustain the increase of necessary forces.]
[The reforms looking toward security and conservation which are
urgently demanded by the moral condition of the country are as
follows:]
1st. The reëstablishment of the well-organized military commission of
police, vigilance, and public safety. [This would be able to check
all sorts of disorder and conspiracy. Its members should be paid by
the state, such pay to come from the licenses issued to travelers
going to the interior, from licenses to carry arms, from fines,
and from the fourth part of all contraband goods confiscated.]
2d. The institution of night-watches in the city and villages outside
its walls, which require them, as almost all the traders and a
considerable portion of the white population live therein. [These
night-watches would relieve the troops of patrol duty in many
instances. They would be under the alcaldes-in-ordinary, and paid
from the municipal funds.]
3rd. The constant maintenance of a guard of at least one thousand
European troops. [These are necessary for the garrisoning of
the fort at Santiago, the palace, the Parián gate, and the other
necessary points. Matta's plan also calls for the reëstablishment
of the Spanish guard of halberdiers of one hundred men, to act as
interior palace guard, and serve as a source of supply for sergeants
for the native regiments. He recommends the establishment of Tagálog
academies in order that the Spanish officers and sergeants may learn
the native language. [45] Certain privileges are proposed for the
European soldiers, whereby their pay may be greater than that of
the native soldiers, for their necessities are greater. The term
of service in the Philippines ought to be eight years, as provided
by royal order of July 26, 1836; but those who are fit ought to be
allowed to reënlist and be transferred to the revenue guard [cuerpo
del resguardo], in order to save cost on transportation. Matta is
against having fewer Europeans in the service as has been urged by
many persons of experience in the Philippines. The system outlined by
him is not one merely of military occupation, but looks to a close
bond with the mother-country and to the industrial development of
the islands. Agriculture is the best occupation for the whites, and
is in fact the only one that will give a good comfortable living. A
greater number of Europeans will mean a greater proportion of mestizos;
[46] and if these, together with the Chinese and some of the whites,
engage in agriculture they will throw their influence on the side
of the government, because of self-interest. Exaggerated ideas are
voiced regarding the Peninsulars. They are never more dangerous
than during the first few years in the islands; but, as they become
accustomed to the climate and learn to know the inhabitants, their
ideas moderate. Consequently, for this reason, and because of the
expense, Matta is against frequent reliefs of soldiers. Vacancies in
the ranks should always be filled with recruits from Spain, and never
with natives. Discipline must not be relaxed on the voyage from Spain;
and the soldiers must be kept in good form physically. A special
boat is recommended for the transport of soldiers to and from Spain;
and cost of transport can be reduced.]
4th. The completion of the organization of the valuable corps of
the revenue guards [cuerpo del resguardo]. [This can be done by
carrying out the royal order of October 18, 1837, and the three
parts of the regulations drawn up by Matta's predecessor June 4,
1841, the first two parts of which have already been approved. Matta
has endeavored without avail, and supported by various officials,
to gain the governor's approval to the third part. The corps of the
revenue guards is always loyal to the governor. With the increase
provided in the plan for organization, this corps will be the most
suitable to defend the country either against foreign or internal
foes. Since the immediate object of the revenue guards is the custody,
defense, and guard of the revenues, they ought to depend immediately
on the treasury department, although they may be available when the
public safety demands it for any other duty. By a decree of Matta's
predecessor, of April 25, 1839, the revenue guards of the various
departments--those of the Bay, and of the tobacco and wine and liquor
monopoly revenues--were united into one corps. This extensive corps,
which absorbs annually the sum of 191,589 pesos, has no adequate
organization, a matter to which immediate attention should be given.]
5th and last. That the attempt be made, in a truly impartial and
foresighted system, to conciliate the minds of people, and to put
an end to that pernicious mistrust that has been introduced between
the peninsular Spaniards and the sons of the country [i.e., the
Spaniards born in the Philippines], which is so contrary to the common
interest. [The government must not be partial to any one class of men,
for each class contains good men who should be rewarded and advanced,
and bad men who should be closely watched and punished. Merit should
be the only cause for advancement. In closing Matta says that his
private life in the islands and his long public service have given him
abundant opportunity to observe and study people and conditions. This
memorial is dated Manila, February 25, 1843.] [47]
THE PHILIPPINES, 1860-1898--SOME COMMENT AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
BY JAMES A. LEROY
The "modern era" in the Philippine Islands--which indeed, in certain
respects, did not really begin until after the establishment of
American rule--coincides roughly with the last half of the nineteenth
century. It is impossible to assign arbitrarily any date as precisely
that of its commencement. One will be inclined to lay stress upon this
or that circumstance, and to choose this or that date, as he places
importance mostly upon matters connected with economic development,
or with social progress, or with political reforms. The truth is that
there was advancement in all these lines, as also there were hindrances
to progress in each of them, and that only by surveying it in each
of these phases of its development can we come to understand in how
considerable a degree Philippine society was remade during this period.
Looking primarily at the expansion of trade and foreign relations,
we might date the new era in the Philippines from the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869. Yet that event, while greatly stimulating trade and
agricultural development, did not inaugurate the modern era in that
respect. The presence of foreign traders, introducing agricultural
machinery and advancing money on crops, was the chief stimulus to
the opening of new areas of cultivation, the betterment of methods of
tilling and preparing crops for the market, and the consequent growth
of exports; indeed, one may almost say that certain American (United
States) and English trading houses nurtured the sugar and hemp crops of
the Philippines into existence. And their pioneer work in this respect
was done before the opening of the Suez Canal brought the Philippines
into vital touch with Europe by means of steam navigation--American
influence being then, in fact, already on the wane. One might more
readily, from this point of view, assign importance as a date to 1856,
when Iloilo (and soon after Sebú) was opened to foreign trade (hitherto
confined to one port of entry, Manila) and foreigners were permitted
to open business houses outside of Manila and to trade and traffic
in the provinces; or, even, to 1859, when the first steam sugar-mill
was set up in Negros island. But the entering wedge had been driven
by foreign traders into Spain's policy of exclusion even before the
cessation of the galleon-trade, the monopoly which confined Manila's
trade to a few Spaniards resident there and their backers in Mexico,
who saw in Manila only a depot of exchange for Chinese and other
Oriental commodities, and commonly despised the idea of giving any
attention to the crude products of the Philippines or endeavoring
to stimulate Philippine agriculture and exportation properly so
called. From the date when this ruinous monopoly expired with the
occupation by Mexican insurgents of Acapulco, the port to which the
galleons brought their silks, cottons, etc., attention was perforce
turned upon Philippine products as a source of trade, and Philippine
exports began to grow. [48] Spanish traders being too few, and utterly
untrained in the ways of competition, and Spanish ships being scarce in
the Orient, foreign traders and foreign ships gathered the bulk of the
business even in the face of useless and annoying restrictions, until
finally these foreigners had broken down the barriers sufficiently to
enter and take a hand in actively fostering agricultural development
in the Philippines. Hence, the opening of the Suez Canal only gave
a new turn and a great acceleration to a movement that, as regards
Philippine internal development, may more logically be dated from 1815,
the year of the last voyage of the galleon.
In one sense, indeed, the opening of the Suez Canal tended to lessen,
relatively, the influence of foreign business and banking houses in
the development of the Philippines, in that it led to direct steamship
connection with Spain, awakening interest at home in this hitherto
neglected colony and bringing to the Philippines for the first time
in three hundred years more than a mere handful of Spaniards. After
the early adventurers and encomenderos had disappeared, the number
of Spanish civilians in private life was few indeed, numbering the
favored merchants who had shares in the galleon trade-monopoly, and an
occasional planter, descended perhaps from a family of encomenderos
rooted in the Philippines, or being an ex-army officer who had
remained in the islands. Moreover, the small army maintained in the
islands was to a considerable extent officered by Mexican creoles or
half-castes, its soldiers being mostly Filipinos and Mexicans. The list
of civilian officials was itself small, the governor (alcalde mayor) of
a province combining with his executive functions and (very commonly)
his command of the troops garrisoned therein, the powers of a superior
judge for both civil and criminal jurisdictions. The members of the
religious orders constituted the largest numerically, as well as the
most influential, element of Spaniards in the Philippines. Outside
of this class, the Spanish population of the archipelago, always
very small even in its total, was mostly gathered in a few places,
Manila containing by far the greater proportion. The general rule in
the provinces was that only one white man, the friar-curate, was to be
found in a town, a number of the smaller towns, moreover, not having
a friar-curate, but a Filipino secular priest. [49] The movement of
Spaniards to the Philippines had, indeed, begun before the opening
of the Suez Canal. The inauguration of the Spanish-Philippine Bank in
Manila in 1852 afforded evidence much less, however, of the growth of
Spanish commercial interests than of a desire to foster the growth of
such interests by supplying credit facilities more nearly up to date
than those hitherto available (at ruinous rates of interest) from the
old "pious funds" [obras pías] of various sorts, especially since the
foreign trading houses were virtually performing the functions of
banks in their ways of extending credit to agriculturists, or were
being aided by private bankers associated with them. [50] The loss
of Spain's colonies on the mainland, besides turning many loyal or
proscribed Spaniards toward Cuba and the Peninsula, had in a small
degree encouraged such emigration to the more distant Philippines, and
the history of certain of the most prominent Spanish families in the
Philippines dates from the decades immediately following the political
upheavals in Spanish-America. In the main, however, such immigrants
as came to the Philippines in this way were government employees who,
being ousted from the American continent, must rest as pensioners on
the home government if the latter could not find them places in the
Spanish Antilles or the Philippines. Such immigration, it need not
be said, was not altogether an unmixed good; and some of the various
"administrative reforms" designed for the Philippines in the fifties
and sixties showed the influence of this pressure to provide places for
officeholders with a claim on the government. The number of Spaniards
who came to the Philippines on their private initiative was very small
until direct steam communication with the Peninsula was opened, and
though it never became large during the last thirty years of Spanish
rule, Spanish commercial interests in the islands gained relatively
on those of foreigners after the opening of the canal. A direct
steamship line from Barcelona was soon established under subsidy. The
domestic shipping laws of Spain were even more fully extended over
the Philippine archipelago, and the already existing preferential
customs duties and regulations aided the growth of Spanish trade in
the islands thereafter more than they had done before. [51]
The opening of the Suez Canal and the entry of Spaniards into the
archipelago in greater numbers marks an epoch even more in a social
way than as respects trade and commerce. And the new social era then
inaugurated was closely allied thenceforward with the discussion of
political reforms, with the essay of some such reforms on the part
of government, and finally with an organized Filipino propaganda for
greater social and political freedom. When the Spanish revolution
of 1868 occurred the Philippines were still far remote from the
mother-country, with its disturbing agitations, wherein violence and
utopianism were destined to prepare the way for the reaction; the new
governor-general sent out by the reformers who expelled Isabel II
came to Manila by the Cape of Good Hope, the old voyage which took
four months or more to bring even the news of what was going on in
Spain. The Constitution of 1868 had been proclaimed in the Philippines
but a few months back when, early in 1870, the first steamer arrived
direct from Barcelona via Suez. Thenceforward, the capital of this
remote Spanish outpost in the Orient was but one month distant from
Barcelona for mail and passengers; soon after ocean cables to the
ports of China (eventually extended to Manila) put the Philippines
in daily touch, as it were, with important occurrences in Spain. The
old régime of slumbering exclusion, already breaking down under the
influence of trade, was ended.
The influx of Spaniards from this time forward had in it, from
the first to the last, more of "politics" than of individual
initiative. More of them came out to take governmental positions than
to engage in trade, or, less frequently, in agriculture, though many
who lost their places by changes in administration stayed in the
islands and occupied themselves in private enterprises. It was the
"reformers" of the revolutionary period in Spain who first undertook
to make a "clean sweep" of the offices in the Philippines, putting in
their friends. Administrative reforms, and to a considerable extent
a change of officials, was needed; but a more or less complicated
bureaucracy was introduced along with some laudable reforms, and there
was then inaugurated the pernicious custom of changing the lower
Spanish officials in the Philippines, as well as the higher, with
every change of administration in Spain--the "dance and counter-dance
of employees," as one writer has named it. [52]
There is undoubtedly some truth in the charge made by the defenders
of the Philippine friars that the entry of Spaniards, especially
officeholders, during the latter part of the nineteenth century
lowered the prestige of the Spanish name in the islands, and was
a cause (the friars would make it the chief or sole cause) of the
discontent, eventually the rebellion, of the Filipinos. Administrative
reforms, some of which were highly beneficial, such as the abolition
of the tobacco monopoly [53] and the reorganization of provincial
governments, nevertheless had the chief effect, in the eyes of
the Filipinos, of raising direct taxes and of burdening them with
the support of new sets of officeholders, whose presence was not
infrequently distasteful. By far too large a proportion of these
officeholders, who came out to an unhealthful clime to take places
which were miserably paid and might be taken away from them in two
or three years, were concerned rather with the "pickings" than with
the duties attached to their offices. Some were openly contemptuous
of the natives, and thus helped to destroy the former good feeling
between the races. The grievance of the friars was, however, far
more frequently vented upon a class of Spanish officeholders quite
different from those who gained odium through tyranny or corruption
or both; the special hostility of the friars was visited upon their
countrymen who gained great popularity with the natives, because of
their more democratic beliefs and manners. Such men were commonly of
the anti-clerical party in Spain, and the bitterest element in home
politics was thus transferred to the Philippines. One may recognize
that such men were all too commonly quixotic and indiscreet, as Spanish
Liberals notoriously are. To refuse to kiss the friar's hand, and to
speak contemptuously of him and all his kind (perhaps even to stir up
scandal against them), may have seemed to such men a very natural and
proper method of asserting their political beliefs and their sense of
individual independence; yet the friars have rightly said that such
actions, and the many things growing out of them, struck a blow at
the very foundations of the structure upon which Spanish supremacy
had been built in the islands. Hence it was that not infrequently
a more far-seeing Liberal, after some years of experience in the
islands, would come out as a defender of the Philippine friars and
their views as to the political régime to be maintained there; he
would perhaps explain it by saying that he was "a Liberal at home,
but in the Philippines all ought to be Spaniards and only that."
Even if we give full faith to the complaints of the friars' defenders
on this score--and their representations of the last half of the
nineteenth century are very one-sided--even if we admire and accept
as truthful the picture they draw of a sort of Eden in the Philippines
back of 1860, and particularly in the two preceding centuries, wherein
the humble Filipino lived practically free of taxation, exempt from
abuses from above, guileless of serious crime, and watched over by a
paternal superior who directed his steps to the eternal bliss of the
other world: still, accepting the friars' case at its face value, it is
plain that they asked for and expected the impossible when they fought
to perpetuate medieval conditions in a country opened to trade and
commerce and to modern thought and contact with the world at large. We
may doubt that ignorance was bliss even in the "good old days;" but it
was certain that those days must come to an end when the Philippines
were awakened by steamships, telegraph lines, newspapers, and books
(even though under clerical and political censorship). Clear-sighted
prophecy was that of Feodor Jagor, the German scientist who traveled
through the Philippines just before 1860, and who, though he found
much to praise in the old paternal régime, said:
"The old situation is no longer possible of maintenance, with the
changed conditions of the present time. The colony can no longer be
shut off from the outside. Every facility in communication opens a
breach in the ancient system and necessarily leads to reforms of a
liberal character. The more that foreign capital and foreign ideas
penetrate there, the more they increase prosperity, intelligence,
and self-esteem, making the existing evils the more intolerable." [54]
The echoes of Spanish partisanship and the talk of nineteenth-century
reforms had been heard in the Philippines before the revolution of
1868 and the opening of the Suez Canal, though it was only after these
events that the people generally began to be stirred, and then only
in the most populous districts. Because the clerical influence was
all-powerful anyway, and the whole fabric of Philippine government
reposed upon it, Carlism was felt in the islands before 1850 rather
as an influence in certain military mutinies and as a source of
strife between rival sets of civil officials than as involving
primarily a defense of ecclesiastical privilege. Foremost among the
events of the decade preceding the revolution of 1868 may be put the
return of the Jesuits to the islands in 1859 (allowed by decree of
1852) and the beginning of educational reform with the decrees of
1863 ordering the establishment of a normal school and of primary
schools under government control and supported directly by the local
governments. [55] The Jesuits had already opened a secondary school
in Manila, introducing for the first time something besides merely
theoretical instruction in natural sciences, and more modern methods
of instruction generally. Their secondary school was subsidized by
the city government of Manila, their meteorological observatory was
subsidized by the insular government, which also employed them to
inaugurate and conduct the new normal school. [56] From this time
forward the Society was both directly and indirectly a stimulus
to educational progress in the Philippines, was influential both
in diffusing more generally primary instruction and in improving
methods and widening curriculums of higher instruction. In a large
degree, the educational program remained to the end of Spanish rule
a pretentious but most superficial thing, more sounding brass than
solid achievement. But we may fairly date a new epoch in this respect
from the return of the Jesuits and the decrees of 1863.
In another way the return of the Jesuits is to be associated with the
beginning of a new era in the islands. They were not permitted to
resume the parochial benefices which their order had held prior to
their expulsion in 1768, but were to engage in missions in Mindanao
and in educational and scientific work. Their resumption of the old
missions in Mindanao was accomplished at the expense of the order
of Recollects, which was thereupon given the provision of certain
parishes, including several wealthy parishes in Luzon, which had
for greater or less intervals been held by the more prominent and
able of the secular priests, Filipinos of pure native blood or
half-castes. [57] The cabildo of the Manila cathedral, including
the more notable of the secular priests, and the curates of the few
conspicuous parishes (in central Luzon) which it fell to the lot of
the secular clergy to occupy, had come to regard these benefices
as their property, in a "corporate" sense, as it were, quite as
each religious order felt that certain parishes, or whole provinces
"belonged" to it as an order. It is significant that here, for the
first time, one notes a feeling of solidarity among the Filipino
secular clergy--for the demonstration of which feeling one has looked
in vain, except in isolated cases, prior to that time, above all in
connection with the effort (1770) of the Spanish archbishop Santa
Justa y Rufina, to secularize the parishes and displace the friars
with native priests. Only the bolder of the Filipino priests expressed
the complaints of their fellows, even now, and open talk of a campaign
for secularization of all the parishes was scarcely heard until some
courage was infused into these few and the small party of Filipino
Liberals (mostly half-castes or Spaniards of Philippine birth) after
the revolution of 1868 and the arrival of a governor-general who
permitted public demonstrations in behalf of Liberal reforms. From
the time of the execution of three Filipino priests for alleged
complicity in the Cavite mutiny of 1872 [58]--the proofs of whose
guilt the public has not seen, if the military courts which tried them
did--there was added to the campaign for the expulsion of the friars
[59] on account of their landed estates and of their stifling of
intellectual freedom the demand that Philippine parishes be entrusted
to a native priesthood. Only since American occupation has the demand
for a national clergy found full expression, but it had for a quarter
of a century before that been an important phase of the sentiment of
nationality, a sentiment that was growing steadily, though slowly and
in the main secretly until 1896 in the Tagálog provinces and 1898 in
the archipelago at large.
The reactionary party had partially regained the upper hand when
the mutiny occurred in Cavite in 1872. Instead of treating it as
its comparative insignificance demanded, and as prudent statecraft
would have counseled, they employed it as an excuse for vengeful
violence, as a means for resuming full control of Philippine policy,
and continued for twenty-five years thereafter to point to it as their
most useful "horrible example," as an evidence of what must follow
the inauguration, even in the slightest degree, of a liberal policy
in the government of the islands. Rightly or wrongly, the people of
that and the succeeding generation in the Tagálog provinces, and to a
less degree in the others, were schooled in racial resentment through
the belief that the native priests had been done to death, upon a
pretext of manufactured evidence, by the malevolence of the friars. The
proscription of the more conspicuous of the then small Liberal element
among the Filipinos had consequences of no less importance. Those
who were sent into exile for alleged complicity in the Cavite mutiny
were certain conspicuous half-castes and a few Spaniards of Philippine
birth or of long residence in the islands. The native element proper
was for the moment scarcely affected, even in Manila and its environs;
and no one has ever demonstrated that the few more advanced men of
Spanish blood who were moved by the revolution in Spain to take a stand
for Liberal measures in the Philippines were engaged in anything but
legitimate political discussion, or indeed that they talked of going
so far in this direction in the Philippines as had already been done
in the Peninsula. These proscriptions powerfully stimulated the idea
of a "Filipino cause." Some of the exiles escaped to Hongkong, and
there founded a Filipino colony. Others settled eventually in Europe;
the more progressive and ambitious Filipinos began sending their
sons to Madrid and Paris for education in contact with the thought
of modern Europe; and in these capitals, and later in Japan, little
Filipino colonies became centers of discussion of political reforms,
and through letters, publications in the Liberal periodicals of Spain,
and finally through their own books and periodicals of propaganda,
greatly influenced the growth of a public opinion in the backward
society of the Philippines. Spanish Masonry gradually extended the
circle of its initiations and of its secret operations (necessarily
secret to an extraordinary degree) in the islands. At first only
Spaniards had been admitted to a few lodges, then mestizos were
admitted, and finally natives of some degree of education without
regard to race. In the eighties and nineties, there seems to be
no doubt, a sort of independent Grand Lodge in Spain (asserted by
some to be of spurious Masonry), [60] managed by zealous Liberal
propagandists with whom certain of the Filipino propagandists in
Barcelona had associated themselves, directed the active organization
of lodges in as many Filipino towns as contained favorable material,
for the purpose of fostering in the islands a demand for political
reforms, of distributing the literature of the propaganda, and of
collecting funds to support the campaign in Spain for the extension of
greater social, political, and religious freedom to the Filipinos. The
Spaniards associated with this movement were for the most part men
of no standing and quixotic visionaries. Some of the Filipinos who
figured in the propaganda abroad were quite as unpractical, being
inexperienced and excitable youths, full of jealousy of each other,
while some few of them, moreover, misused the funds raised for them
by their fellows at home. The whole program for "assimilation" of the
Philippines to Spain as a province of the Peninsula, giving a distant
archipelago in the Orient with its widely different population, social
status, and economic conditions and needs, a government just like that
of European Spain was manifestly absurd and inimical to the interests
of the Filipinos themselves, not to add that its realization was an
utter impossibility. But these things should not have been allowed
to hide the justice of the demand for such reforms and privileges
as were practical and compatible with the needs and conditions of
the archipelago and its people: for a spokesman or spokesmen of the
Philippines in the Cortes at Madrid; for reforms in judiciary and
fundamental laws, not blindly copied from those promulgated in Spain
but adapted to the Philippines, or if necessary especially drafted for
them; for administrative reforms, above all as to the civil service
and looking toward an increasing recognition of the native element in
government, and toward a decentralization that should be gradually
extended as far as deeply rooted habits and long-standing customs
would permit; and, finally, for greater individual and social freedom,
both in a political and a religious sense. This last was really the
crux of the whole situation, so far as the continuance of Spanish
sovereignty should not come to depend purely on force. In the old
days it had rested on religious teachings, on the friars in fact,
with the sense of race-prestige in the background to support Spanish
authority. It was futile for the friars to cry out for a return
to the old conditions, and to denounce as dangerous any reforms
in the direction of freedom of thought or of speech; the pages of
history could not be turned back. The idea of future independence
from Spain was, to be sure, in the minds of some at least of the
Filipino propagandists. But their present campaign was for greater
political liberty, and the measures they advocated, and even the
methods they employed almost to the last, would have been legitimate
in any free country--were, in fact, legitimate even then in the
Peninsula itself, where they could advocate publicly what they
must whisper among their fellows at home. The very fact that such
organizations as these spurious Masonic lodges were under the ban,
and that even to be suspected of belonging thereto was to invite the
danger of deportation from home as a "conspirator," is sufficient
proof of the essential righteousness of the propagandists' cause. And
the campaign that began with a few Spanish-Filipinos in Manila and
gradually extended to the more independent men of education in the
provinces eventually, under half-educated leaders of the small middle
class, reached in a perverted form the masses themselves, especially in
central Luzon, and found expression at last in violence and an outburst
of race-hatred. The Katipunan was not Masonic, as the friars asserted,
only copying some of the Masonic formulæ; but it was a natural and
logical outgrowth of the smothering of what had been a legitimate
movement for the expression of Filipino reform sentiment.
The title to these notes has indicated the year 1860 as marking in a
general way the opening of the modern era in the Philippines, without
reference to any one particular event. It is proposed to give here,
briefly, such further notes as will afford a working bibliography on
this period, while calling attention to some subjects and certain
points that are commonly disregarded in the bibliographies and
published works dealing with the last years of Spanish rule in the
Philippines. No pretense to completeness is made. The aim is to call
attention, under their proper heads, to the more distinctly useful
(or, in some cases, the more unreliable, and hence to be avoided)
titles already listed in the Philippine bibliography that is to be most
readily obtained, and which is also the most complete and satisfactory
work of this sort, viz., that published at Washington in 1903; [61]
and also to supplement these titles with others there unnoticed and
with other data not easily found. In the main, only such works are
cited as the writer has himself consulted, though in some cases the
notes or recommendations of others have been followed.
The first essential to a study of this period is a fair and
comprehensive survey of Philippine conditions in the years just
preceding--the "old régime," as we may call it, though it was then
breaking down in certain particulars. One book alone will serve the
student's purpose in this respect; and, whatever others are read,
Jagor's [62] is indispensable. Next to him, and in addition to the
documents appearing in this series immediately preceding the present
volume may be cited the 1842 Informe of the Spanish diplomat in the
Orient, Sinibaldo de Mas, and the two-volume treatise of 1846 by the
Frenchman, J. Mallat. In certain respects, the latter has closely
followed Mas; but his is no mere translated plagiarism, like that
of John Bowring (1859), who was only a temporary visitor entertained
by Spanish officialdom in Manila. The work of Paul de la Gironière,
not his Twenty Years in the Philippines, but his more serious work
of 1855 (Aventures d'un gentilhomme breton aux îles Philippines),
merits attention as containing the observations of a cultivated
foreigner who had the advantage of years of residence in Manila and
a neighboring province.
As was indicated at the beginning of these notes, to make a thorough
study of this period, we should consider it under three heads,
viz., economic development, social development, and political
development. Not only has there been no comprehensive review of the
period as a whole, but there exists no review of it under any one of
these heads, nor even any group of writings which can be offered to
the inquirer as covering the field of inquiry in any one of these
respects. For one thing, we must draw mainly upon Spanish sources
of information, official and private, and rare indeed is the Spanish
writer who does not either proceed regardless of the economic point
of view, or else give entirely secondary consideration to the vital
matter concerned in the economic and social progress of a people
independently of political forms and governmental influences. The
result is that Spanish writers, with them the Filipinos, and to a
great extent the writers of Philippine treatises in other languages
(drawing hastily upon Spanish sources), have over-emphasized the
political history of this Philippine period. Of course, in Spain and
the Spanish countries long-standing habit makes it the tendency to look
to government for everything, and to think of all amelioration of evils
and all incitements to progress as coming from above; while social
and economic conditions in the Philippines are such as to emphasize
this tendency, the aristocracy of wealth and education standing apart
from the masses and being, to the latter, identified in the main with
the government, with the "powers above." Nevertheless, it is to be
insisted that social and economic progress in the Philippines during
the last half-century should be considered separately and studied
more particularly than they have been thus far.
It need hardly be said, for another thing, that it is not possible
to make an absolute separation of this subject under the headings
thus indicated. Such a thing cannot be done with any people in any
period of history. In this particular case, one need only mention the
Religious Question, with its phases as a contest between friars and
native clergy, as a demand for modern freedom of thought and speech,
and as an agrarian question, to show at once that matters social,
economic, and political are here interwoven. So also the Spanish
administration cannot be considered wholly apart from its bearing
upon economic and social as well as purely political matters. No
rigid classification is possible, but the student who approaches
the history of this period--which, apart from its own interest, has
had ever since 1898 the most vital bearing upon a public question of
great importance in the United States today--will avoid confusion by
giving consideration to these separate points of view.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
One would welcome an attempt by some one of the more ambitious
Filipino writers and students whose attention has been occupied almost
exclusively with political controversy to write the social history of
his people during this last period of Spanish rule. The materials for
such a study, so far as they now exist in print, are very fragmentary,
and the work could hardly be well done by any but a resident of the
islands during that period. But few references need be given here,
and the inquirer must derive most of his information on this line from
the numerous books and pamphlets whose object is primarily political
questions and from the economic and fiscal tables and studies which
shed light upon the general status of the people.
General historical surveys of the period are lacking. Montero y
Vidal's three-volume history comes down only to 1873. And, though
it is the best Philippine historical work for reference purposes,
it is, after all, hardly more than a chronology of important events
and compilation of official orders and projects, touching the life
of the people scarcely at all. The same author's work of 1886, El
archipiélago filipino, merits attention also in this connection,
though primarily it sets forth facts geographical, statistical,
etc. The works of Manuel Scheidnagel deserve also citation as those of
a Spanish official of long and varied experience in the Philippines,
and as shedding, incidentally to the particular subjects which they
treat, light upon the conditions of country and people in general. [63]
The foreigners who traveled in the Philippines during this period, and
who have written thereon, were occupied in most cases with scientific
pursuits, and have confined themselves mainly to these objects in
what they have published. The Luçon et Palaouan (Paris, 1887) of
Alfred Marche touches upon the customs and conditions of the people
in its record of six years' scientific research for the government of
France. Edmond Plauchut's contributions to the Revue des deux mondes
for 1869 and 1877, in lighter vein and perhaps not always accurate,
are, like Gironière's writings of earlier date, interesting as
presenting the observations of a resident foreigner. Among the works in
English, revised or written since 1898 to meet the demand in the United
States for information about the Philippines, Dean C. Worcester's The
Philippine Islands and their People (New York, 1898), brings us nearest
to the life of the people, particularly in the rural districts and
regions most remote from modern changing influences. The treatises of
the British engineers and experts in tropical agriculture, Frederick
H. Sawyer and John Foreman, are written by men who were, naturally,
best prepared to discuss the agricultural conditions and the material
resources in general of the Philippines. Outside of these matters,
except when reciting personal experiences and observations, both
are compilers whose reading in Philippine bibliography has been very
fragmentary. Foreman in particular has undertaken to cover the entire
field of Philippine history and politics, and has, to state the plain
truth, made a very bad botch of it. He has been so often quoted in
the United States as authority for erroneous statements that it is
time to make this fact clear. It is commonly impossible to draw the
line in what he has written between fact and gossip, conjecture,
or partial truth. His latest edition (1906) contains most of the old
glaring errors or even worse omissions, with a full measure of new
ones in his recital of the history of events since 1896. Some data
contained in Foreman's book are not readily available to an American
student outside of the large libraries; but a caution is to be uttered
against relying upon him, even for his recital of fiscal details or
for his statistical tables. Sawyer is very much more accurate and
reliable, just as he is less pretentious in the program of his work.
In studying the social process of the Filipino people from about 1860
onward, the subject of education holds the first place. [64] It is,
however, unnecessary to occupy ourselves here with the bibliography of
the subject, which has been very fully covered in VOLS. XLV and XLVI of
this work, the appendices to those volumes giving, in connection with
other documents in this series and with the bibliographical notes,
the most comprehensive treatment of the subject of education in the
Philippines that is yet available in any language.
As we might expect from what has been said, the social life of the
Philippines, at least from about 1875, may best be studied in the
periodicals of Manila. In this connection it is only necessary to
mention Retana's El periodismo filipino, which covers the subject
down to 1894. La Revista de Filipinas, edited by J. F. del Pan,
1875-77, deserves special mention among the many periodicals of short
life. Among those of longer duration may be named El Diario de Manila,
and also, for the closing years of Spanish rule, La Oceanía Española,
La Voz Española and El Comercio. [65] One should also consult these
Spanish periodicals of Manila for the political history of these years,
particularly of 1896-98. It must be remarked, however, that, just as
these periodicals reflected mainly the life only of the capital, and
that quite exclusively from the Spanish viewpoint, so also they treated
political and administrative matters not merely under the constraint
of their editors' notions as to "maintaining Spanish prestige" but
also with a censorship in the background, maintained by and for the
political and the ecclesiastical authorities. [66] Down to 1898 the
Philippine law of censorship of 1857, modeled on that of Spain in the
days of Isabel II, was in force, and it covered the publication of
books and pamphlets of all sorts and of newspapers, the importation and
sale of books, pictures, etc., and the regulation of theaters. [67]
One will, therefore, look almost in vain in these periodicals prior
to 1898 for expressions of the Filipino point of view, or, till the
close of 1897, for any frank expression of liberal political views
on the part of Spanish editors. The few Manila periodicals started
by Filipinos before 1898, usually printed in Spanish and Tagálog, had
but an ephemeral existence. [68] One must look for the expression of
Filipino aims and ideas to the periodicals that have been published
since 1898; indeed, even the Spanish press of Manila has treated
Filipino questions with freedom only since American occupation began.
For population statistics, all practical purposes are served by the
tables and comparisons of the American census of 1903. [69] Here one
may find also the best data for reconstructing before his eyes the
social and economic status of the Philippines and its inhabitants
at the close of Spanish rule. The Spanish civil census of 1896 was
unfortunately never published, nor completed in some provinces. The
civil census of 1887, though published in very condensed form,
merits attention. [70] Certain of the more notable statistical
works of private individuals will require notice in connection with
agriculture, industry, and commerce; here the student may be referred
to the Bibliography under the names of Agustín de la Cavada, J. F. del
Pan, and José Jimeno Agius. [71]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Using, as throughout these notes, the Bibliography as a starting
point, the student is referred to the first part of that work, viz.,
the List of the Library of Congress, under the headings Agriculture,
Commerce, Finance, and Political and Social Economy; and to Pardo
de Tavera's Biblioteca under the alphabetical lists of Aranceles,
Balanzas, Boletín, Estatutos, Exposición, Guía, Instrucción, Memoria,
and Reglamentos. Some of the works therein cited are obviously
indispensable, and occasional biographical and bibliographical notes
are also afforded, especially by Pardo de Tavera under the names of
authors cited, which will help in forming an opinion on the value of
their works. [72] It is in point here to designate among these works
those most useful as references in a general way upon Philippine
economic matters, to add some not listed in the Bibliography, and
to give some special references under the particular headings of
Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry.
General.--Jagor's book, already noted as the best introduction to
the study of this period, is again mentioned here as affording data
on the tobacco monopoly (which lasted until 1884, before its affairs
were wound up), the attitude of the Spaniards toward the entry of
foreign traders, and the part these foreigners played in developing the
culture of abaká and sugar. Cavada's Historia geográfica, geológica
y estadística de Filipinas (Manila, 1876) has a good arsenal of data
drawn chiefly from the civil statistical inquiries of 1870, though,
like almost all such works in Spanish, it is without a topical index
and is put together in a disorderly manner most exasperating to the
searcher for facts or figures on a specific point of inquiry. Of the
works of José Jimeno y Agius, his Memoria sobre el desestanco del
tabaco (Binondo, 1871) and Población y comercio de las islas Filipinas
(Madrid, 1884) should be especially mentioned. Gregorio Sancianco y
Goson's El progreso de Filipinas (Madrid, 1881), especially valuable on
administrative matters just prior to the revision of the fiscal régime
in connection with the abolition of the government tobacco monopoly,
has also many data on land, commerce, and industry. Scattered through
the eight volumes of the fortnightly La Política de España en Filipinas
(Madrid, 1891-98) are useful items on Philippine currency and exchange,
trade, etc., with occasional studies of these questions and those of
Chinese and European immigration, in most cases hasty, unreliable
pieces of work, often even fantastic for their utter disregard of
the fundamentals of political economy. Foreman's book has already
been characterized; nevertheless, checked up with Sawyer's, it is of
use in this connection. Of the consular and other official reports,
those of the British Foreign Office [73] are the most valuable as a
series, though the comprehensive reports of the French Consul, M. de
Bérard, covering the years 1888-92, merit first place as individual
treatises. [74]
The testimony and memoranda presented before the American Peace
Commission in Paris in 1898, together with some magazine articles
on the Philippines, form appendices to Senate Document no. 62, 55th
Congress, 3rd session; only the memorandum of General F. V. Greene
(pp. 404-440) and Max L. Tornow's Sketch of the Economic Conditions
of the Philippines require any consideration in this connection. [75]
The reports on civil affairs (1899-1901) of the United States military
government in the Philippines and the reports of the Philippine
Commission have much retrospective value in connection with the
previous economic and fiscal régime, and merit a general perusal in
that light; some of their more especially pertinent revelations will
be hereinafter cited. The Report on Certain Economic Questions in the
English and Dutch Colonies in the Orient (Washington, 1902) by Jeremiah
W. Jenks, special commissioner of the United States government, is
of course of comparative value primarily, but contains some general
remarks on Philippine conditions as regards currency, labor, land, and
taxation. In many respects the best economic study ever made of the
Philippines is Victor S. Clark's Labor Conditions in the Philippines
(Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor no. 58, Washington, May, 1905); though
discussing the labor question, and that under American occupation,
it has been written with a view constantly to past conditions in the
Philippines, social and political as well as economic. [76]
Agriculture, Land, etc.--Beyond the general references given,
no special work can be recommended on the subject of Philippine
agriculture. The reports and bulletins of the present Philippine Bureau
of Agriculture (1902 to date) shed much light incidentally on past
conditions and methods of cultivation. Numerous official provisions
and some private treatises on the Spanish land laws are cited by
Pardo de Tavera; but these remained for the most part dead letters,
and for all practical purposes a little compilation in English [77]
by the present Philippine Forestry Bureau suffices. In a report on
the establishment of land banks in the Philippines, José Cabezas de
Herrera provided a historical review and abstract of landed property
in those islands. [78] In connection with his arguments in behalf of
a tax on landed property as just and as also necessary in order to
support a really efficient government in the Philippines, Sancianco
y Goson gives considerable information on conditions of land tenure
and cultivation down to 1881. [79]
Chinese.--Discussion of the Chinese in the Philippines is related more
particularly to questions of industry and retail trade. Nevertheless,
the Spanish government maintained almost to the end the theory--it was
hardly more than an empty theory--that the Chinese immigration was
being so regulated as to constitute a stimulus to agriculture. The
subject also falls into place here because, from about 1886, when
a campaign for the exclusion of the Chinese was started by Spanish
merchants and newspaper men, a program for fostering the immigration
of Spaniards into the Philippines, and especially into the undeveloped
areas of Mindanao and Palawan, was quite regularly coupled with the
arguments for Chinese exclusion. This program was usually presented
without regard for the climatic and economic considerations involved;
that it was a "patriotic" scheme was sufficient for some of these
writers, who never stopped to ask themselves if their plans were
practical. [80] Among the pamphlets on the Chinese in the Philippines
cited by Pardo de Tavera, those of Del Pan and Jordana y Morera
deserve attention. A good survey of the subject, though not accurate
in its statistics, is G. García Ageo's Memorandum on the Chinese in
the Philippines in Report of the Philippine Commission, 1900, ii,
pp. 432-445. [81]
Industries.--The general references already cited must be relied
upon, and it is a rather wearisome task to uncover the data for a
study of Philippine industries from statistical tables, treatises
and pamphlets which have given the subject a cursory or fragmentary
treatment. The British and French consular reports may, however, be
especially remarked. Also, the reports of the Chief of the Bureau of
Internal Revenue in the reports of the Philippine Commission since
1904, when a new scheme of internal taxation was adopted, contain
much information on industrial conditions, past and present.
Commerce, Internal Trade, Navigation, etc.--The Spanish statistical
annuals, tariff regulations, etc., are fully listed by the Library
of Congress and Pardo de Tavera, under the headings above noted
for general references on economic matters. The most comprehensive
survey of trade statistics, and one which almost serves the purpose
by itself alone, is contained in the Monthly Summary of Commerce of
the Philippine Islands, for December, 1904, published at Washington by
the Bureau of Insular Affairs. It presents classified tables covering
Philippine imports and exports for the fifty years 1855-1904; they
were prepared from the best available Spanish trade statistics,
reduced to terms of American gold currency at the average rate of
exchange for each year, and, so far as the writer has checked these
figures, they are the most reliable that are presented anywhere. [82]
Among the very few Spanish writings, Azcárraga's Libertad de Comercio
(Madrid, 1872) and Jimeno Agius's Población y comercio (1884) deserve
special mention, also once more the useful little book of Sancianco y
Goson, for brief but useful data for 1868-80 in its appendices. [83]
For 1891-98, La Política de España en Filipinas has some scattering
figures on trade and commerce, year by year, highly unsatisfactory for
the most part. Besides the general references upon the Spanish customs
tariffs, one will find in Senate Document no. 134, 57th Congress,
1st session (Washington, 1902), in its Exhibit D, a comparison of
the 1901 tariff with the Spanish tariff of 1891. [84]
Currency.--The List of the Library of Congress, under the heading
Finance, cites a few Spanish and foreign treatises on Philippine
currency prior to 1898, and the earlier American official reports
on the subject. One will get more enlightenment upon the actual
conditions prevailing during the last years of Spanish rule from
memoranda and testimony in certain of these American reports than from
any of the printed sources of date earlier than 1898. Nevertheless,
the petition of the Manila Chamber of Commerce in 1895 reproduced in
La Política de España en Filipinas, v, no. 105, brings out in part the
highly unsatisfactory conditions produced by the Spanish government's
inaction and disregard of well-established economic principles. In
ibid., vii, p. 217, is given the text of the decree of April 17, 1897,
providing for the new Philippine silver peso which was beginning to
circulate in the islands when American arms intervened, and which
was proclaimed as a "settlement" of the Philippine currency evils,
yet would obviously not have proved sufficient, unsupported as it was
by provisions to sustain it in the face of the decline of silver. In
much of the loose talk about economic depression in the Philippines
since the wars of 1896-98 and 1899-1901, not enough attention has
been paid to the fact that "hard times" had really begun before,
during 1891-95 particularly, and that an unstable currency and
exchange fluctuations had then played their part in producing these
conditions; also that it was the Filipino laborer and small producer
who was especially mulcted of his due by conditions produced in part
officially and in part by governmental neglect. [85] In addition to
the American documents listed by the Library of Congress, reference
should be made, as regards currency and exchange evils before 1898,
to the survey of the subject by the Schurman Commission (Report of
the Philippine Commission, 1900, i, pp. 142-149), and the testimony
of Manila bankers and business men in the same report (vol. ii);
to magazine articles by Charles A. Conant printed as appendices in
Report of the Commission on International Exchange (Washington, 1903);
and, for a few details on previous conditions, with exchange tables,
to the reports of E. W. Kemmerer, Chief of the Division of Currency,
for 1904 and 1905. [86]
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT--SPANISH ADMINISTRATION
Our object here being primarily the political progress of the Filipino
people, we are concerned incidentally, as it were, with the subject
of Spanish administration considered by itself alone. A good study
of that subject, be it said, is lacking, and it may be recommended
as an opportunity worth improving.
No one who has read even a little about the Philippines and
Filipinos need be told that it is necessary to trace the political
development of this people along two lines--unfortunately, it proved
for Spain, lines that are divergent in considerable degree. Hence
the subdivision of this heading, regarding, first, development
under Spanish Administration and then the Filipino Propaganda,
first of Reform and finally of Revolution. We are concerned in
the first instance, that is, with reforms and progress realized in
consequence of measures "from above." It has already been said that
very considerable progress had been made by the Spanish government
from about 1860 onward, and was being made when the Tagálogs
appealed to arms in 1896. [87] It is also true that the stimulus
to the Filipino reform propaganda came in considerable degree from
the movements toward betterment of the government itself, and from
the agitations for reform in Spanish home politics. [88] But the
development of the Filipino people, social, political, and economic,
proceeded at last more rapidly, or less haltingly at least, than the
progress in reform from above; the reform measures were only partial,
often unpractical or ill-adapted to Philippine conditions; abuses
of administration continued under so-called Liberal periods as well
as in times of full clerical domination; in the action and reaction
of Spanish politics, in which so often are party divisions merely
nominal and superficial, the course of progress was so irregular and
uncertain as to lend justification to the feeling of the Filipinos
that they were being treated with insincerity; and all the while,
in the midst of bitter partisan and religious controversy, conducted
on both sides by writers most rabid and intemperate, the two peoples
were constantly growing apart from each other, and were losing the
mutual good-feeling of past years which, though always superficial
in large part (as in any such domination of one race by another),
had nevertheless had a foundation of genuine esteem.
The administrative organism.--For present purposes, it almost suffices
to refer simply to the List of the Library of Congress under the
headings Finance, Law, Political and Social Economy, and to Pardo de
Tavera's Biblioteca under the names of authors cited in the above List
and the alphabetical headings Aranceles, Balanza, Boletín, Colección,
Disposiciones, Exposición, Guía, Memoria, Proyectos (those of 1870 for
all sorts of reforms proposed after the Spanish Revolution of 1868),
and Reglamentos. The bibliography of Colonization published by the
Library of Congress, besides these special works on the Philippines,
lists also works on Spanish colonies and works on colonization in
general. [89] Of the compilations, annuals, etc., listed in these
bibliographies, special attention may be directed to those cited
under the names of Rodriguez San Pedro (to 1869) and Rodriguez Berriz
(to 1888). The most complete reference work on Spanish legislation,
executive regulations, etc., is the Colección legislativa de España,
and this work contains provisions enacted at Madrid with regard to
the Philippines down to and including 1898. For the full official
record, not only of enactments at Madrid, but of the forms under
which these were carried into effect in the islands themselves, the
Philippine governmental regulations, proclamations, etc., covering
this entire period down to the end of Spanish rule, the official
gazette of the Philippines (published under the name La Gaceta de
Manila, 1860-1898) is the final source; but the writer knows of no
full collection thereof in any library of the United States, though
there is of course one in the archives at Manila. In this connection,
it should be remarked that the governor-general had very wide, and
in some respects not very exactly prescribed, powers, one of the most
indefinite and sweeping of which was that requiring any general law or
special provision of Madrid, before it actually acquired force in the
Philippines, to be published with the governor-general's "cúmplase"
("let it go into effect"). This might be, and usually was, a mere
formality; but it was capable of being used so as at least to postpone
the execution of a legislative decree or ministerial order which was
distasteful to the chief authority of the Philippines, was violently
opposed by the influential interests in the islands (particularly the
ecclesiastical element), or, as happened in some cases, was manifestly
inapplicable to Philippine conditions. Of course, the governor-general
could readily be overruled, but even so, he could, if he desired,
secure thus a delay and possible reconsideration of the matter,
and the frequent changes of party administration in Spain encouraged
delays of this and like sorts, not a few reform decrees remaining thus
dead letters in the Philippines. It is often important, therefore,
to discover not only what was the law or regulation provided for the
Philippines in Madrid, but how it was put into force in the islands,
or if it actually took effect at all. For this purpose, the Official
Guide of the Philippines (Guía de forasteros to 1865, Guía oficial
from 1879 to 1898) supplements in some respects the official gazette
and the collection of Rodriguez Berriz. [90]
Of surveys and summaries of Spanish administration in the Philippines
listed in the Bibliography may be mentioned Cabezas de Herrera's
Apuntes (1883) and Fabié's Ensayo histórico (Madrid, 1896), also
José de la Rosa's La administración pública en Filipinas. [91] In the
compilation by Jesuit fathers published at Washington in 1900 under
the title El archipiélago filipino, there is to be found in vol. i,
a survey of the governmental organization and the various activities
of the government both under civil and ecclesiastical control. This
is reproduced in English in vol. iv of Report of the Philippine
Commission, 1900. In vol. i of this report of the Schurman Commission
(part iv, chapter i, also pp. 122-123) is an abstract of the Spanish
system of government which, so far as the framework of that government
is concerned, serves the purpose for one who can not readily consult
the Spanish official sources from which it was drawn. [92] The major
portion of this abstract is occupied by a translation and summary of
the law reforming the Philippine local governments in 1893, commonly
called the "Maura Law" after the Colonial Minister who promulgated
it. [93] As put in force by Governor-General Blanco, however, it was
somewhat altered and revised, and many of its more promising provisions
for local autonomy had in most towns remained in reality dead letters
up to the time when revolt broke out in the Tagálog provinces in
1896; elections under the new law were suspended, and martial law
established. For this law in its original text and as promulgated
by Blanco, with regulations and model forms for the municipalities,
see Felix M. Roxas's Comentarios al reglamento provisional de las
juntas provinciales (Manila, 1894). [94]
The administration in actual operation.--What most interests us is the
actual working of this machine in Manila, the provinces and towns, and
the works above cited will mostly provide for us only its skeleton on
paper. To make it an effective machine, we must resort to personal
testimony, occasional revelations thrown upon it by such of our
writers as looked beyond mere routine, and perhaps most of all to the
periodical literature of the times. [95] Few of the resident writers
of the old régime thought it was quite patriotic, or would serve their
personal interests, to discuss matters as frankly, for example, as
did Sancianco y Goson. [96] Testimony before the Schurman Commission
(vol. ii of its report) in 1899 brings out, here and there, revelations
as to how the former government was actually administered. [97]
Philippine government reports under American rule bring to light here
and there revelations about the former administration, especially in
fiscal and judicial matters. The customs collections benefited the
treasury far less than they should have done; perhaps fully as much
as was turned in was "absorbed" in one way and another. [98] Special
surtaxes on the customs and port dues were collected at Manila for
the improvement of its harbor from 1880 to 1898, amounting during the
last five years alone to 3,500,000 pesos. Yet the work, when at last
inaugurated, dragged along in desultory fashion and the value of the
breakwater constructed and the equipment in hand in 1898 amounted to
no more than $1,000,000 gold. [99]
Taxation.--No one of the works on administration just cited treats
this subject in a comprehensive or satisfactory manner. The only
special study of the subject that is known to the writer is Carl
C. Plehn's Taxation in the Philippines (Political Science Quarterly,
xvi, pp. 680-711, and xvii, pp. 125-148), and the author of this
excellent survey had to drag his data forth from the official records
and compilations. This survey gives all the most necessary information
as to kinds of taxes, their incidence, and amounts; but for the most
part there lie outside of its scope the questions one wishes to have
answered as to methods of collection and the working of the fiscal
administration in general, the actual receipts and expenditures for
government purposes, and particularly the special local revenues
so far as separate from general revenues. Sancianco y Goson again
helps to fill the gap, as regards the system of taxation prevailing
before the abolition of the tobacco monopoly and the reform of the
tribute and the corvee in 1884. [100] Anyone who has had experience
with Spanish fiscal tables need not be told that they do not always
show what they appear to show. It is thus that the writers who have
reproduced in English since 1898 Philippine budgets for various years
[101] have unwittingly misled their readers as to the real cost of
government under Spain. The figures shown in these budgets were the
totals of net collections (and expenditures), for ordinary purposes,
for the central government of the islands alone. They did not include
the purely local licenses and other taxes, the surcharges on general
taxes for local government (to be expended under supervision of the
central authorities), the percentages that went to collectors, the
other fees forming part or all of the compensation of some judicial and
other officials, special surcharges for port works and other purposes
not covered in the ordinary budget, etc. Naturally, no estimate was
included of the value of the forced-labor levy. The products of
"squeeze" and "pickings," in some cases so fully established as
to be notorious, were of course not included; nevertheless, they
represented part of the cost of government to the people. Finally,
an ecclesiastical establishment, really a part of the government
itself, drew support from the people in many ways beyond what would
have been provided had not the power of government been behind it,
under a system of voluntary contributions, for instance, apart from
the communities which paid rent to the friars as landlords. [102]
The Spanish-Philippine debt of 40,000,000 pesos, incurred in 1897 in
consequence of the insurrection, has not had sufficient notice as
being originally the cause at Paris of the payment of $20,000,000
by the United States to Spain in connection with the clause of the
treaty providing for the cession of the Philippines. Had the islands
remained under Spanish sovereignty, they would have carried this
their first public debt, expended wholly for war purposes, part of
it being loaned for the payment of military operations in Cuba. [103]
Legal and judicial.--In the introduction to the List of the Library of
Congress, under the heading Law, and on the pages of the List cited in
that note will be found the formal bibliography of the subject. [104]
Some references upon the actual conditions of the administration of
justice in the Philippines have already been given. For this purpose,
note also a comparison of the old criminal procedure with that
introduced in 1899 in Military Governor on Civil Affairs (Rept. War
Dept., 1900, i, part 10), pp. 17-20. The compilation of Rafael Morales
y Prieto [105] is also to be specially mentioned for the criminal
law and procedure, 1880 to 1894, and also for an appendix containing
circulars as to judicial fees of various sorts. For brief summaries in
English of the old judicial organizations see Exhibit J of the Report
of the Taft Philippine Commission, 1900, a résumé by Chief Justice
Arellano, especially for a statement as to the conflict of laws and
codes, old and new, and as to the relative degree of authority of
these codes; and Census of the Philippine Islands (Washington, 1905),
chapter on the Judiciary. [106] Justice Willard's brief Notes on the
Spanish Civil Code (Manila, 1903) also merits consultation.
Science and material resources.--So far as the scientific work of
the period has a direct bearing upon our present purposes, it relates
rather to the section on Economic Development. But the materials are
sufficiently listed in the Bibliography, and the subject is introduced
here only to say that this is one of the lines along which, in recent
years, Spanish administration was beginning to make progress. This
was true, however, chiefly of forestry and mineralogy, and was due
almost entirely to the Spanish officials Abella y Casariego, Centeno y
García, and Sebastian Vidal y Soler, and to the stimulus of the work of
foreign investigators, especially Germans. The work of the Jesuits in
meteorology should also be specially mentioned. It will be noted that
little headway was made in the matter most vital for the Philippines,
viz., agriculture; nor can we say that even a beginning was made in
industrial chemistry or other researches calculated to foster either
incipient or undeveloped industries, while the public health service
was lamentably defective and scientific research relating thereto
amounted practically to nothing. Reference may be made to the already
large list of publications of the present Philippine government's
Bureau of Science, Board of Health, Agriculture, Forestry, and Mining
bureaus as showing the state of scientific investigation before 1898,
also for bibliographical data. [107]
Moros and pagan peoples.--Ethnology as a science does not claim a
place here. [108] We are concerned with the Spanish advance toward
the establishment of effective control over large areas either partly
occupied or kept in a wild state of nature by backward or warring
tribes; though considerable headway was made in the last half of the
nineteenth century, Spanish sovereignty over these areas was after
all only nominal in 1898. Moreover, especially as regards the Moros,
the materials and bibliography have been presented in other volumes
of this series. [109] Attention is called to a useful compilation of
Spanish campaigns against the Moros by Lieut. W. E. W. McKinley, [110]
especially for its reviews of Malcampo's campaign of 1876, Terrero's
of 1886-87, Weyler's of 1888-91, and Blanco's of 1894-96. [111]
The American military reports from 1899 to date and reports on the
Moro Province since 1903 contain scattered data on Spanish relations
with the Moros and also the hill tribes of Mindanao. Similarly, the
reports and publications of the Philippine Ethnological Survey from
1902 to date contain references to Spanish contact in recent years
with the pagan peoples of Luzón, Mindoro, and Palawan. [112]
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT--FILIPINO PROPAGANDA AND REVOLUTION
Religious Question.--It need scarcely be repeated that the "friar
controversy" enters not only into this, but every phase of our
discussion, and in one form or another, is touched upon in almost
all our sources of information about the Philippines. For one thing,
however, we are not here concerned with a historical judgment upon
the work of the friars in the Philippines, though it is proper to
note that there has of late been evident a reaction in their favor
from the tendency common in the United States immediately after 1898
to judge them wholly by recent events, and their work is now more
fairly viewed in its three-century perspective. We are, moreover,
excused from entering upon a comprehensive survey of literature about
the friars and their work in general by the fact that the subject has
been constantly to the fore throughout this series. What is needed
here is only the citation, supplementary to the Bibliography and to
the great accumulation of bibliographical references in other volumes
of this series, of certain titles easily overlooked (some because of
recent publication) and of such special passages in all these works
as elucidate particular matters of importance.
As with all the political literature of the Philippines, 1860-1898, the
reader is to be warned against the exaggerations of both sides. Always
and everywhere, religious privileges and prejudices have aroused
discussion both violent and intolerant; and in this case we find,
on one side, a defense of religious and ecclesiastical privileges of
a medieval character and in a tone and temper inherited from those
times. Nor, even setting the purely ecclesiastical and religious
questions aside, need we expect to find in this literature any
review or discussion written in a calm and scientific spirit. Spanish
political literature is almost entirely polemic, and Spanish polemics
is sui generis. So, as with the friars and their defenders, we
find here the principles of modern political science, which appeal
properly to cool reason and the tolerance of liberalism, put forward
by Spaniards and Filipinos in a language and with a spirit that hark
back to times which we have come to think of as far remote from ours.
The bitterness of tone, the intolerance and contempt of the Filipino,
and the flaunting of "race superiority," which came to characterize
the writings of the friars and their defenders in this period--and
which played no small part in leading the Filipinos to the brink of
separation--are shown to the full in the numbers of La Política de
España en Filipinas, 1891-98. The purpose of this organ was to combat
in Spain the program of those who would further liberalize the régime
of society and government in the Philippines. W. E. Retana, at first an
associate editor with José Feced, was after 1895 its sole editor. Just
what were the relations of the Madrid establishments of the Philippine
religious orders with the business department of this periodical is not
known; but it is admitted that "the friars helped by subscriptions"
at least, and it has generally been supposed that their connection
with it was really closer, in short that it was practically an organ
of theirs. [113] In it will be found the pro-friar and anti-liberal
account and view of events and matters current during the years of its
publication, and also various studies of earlier years written from
the same point of view. The case for the friars, especially for the
period from 1863 on, may also be found quite typically set forth in
a single volume of five hundred pages by a Philippine Augustinian,
Padre Eladio Zamora (Las corporaciones religiosas en Filipinas,
Valladolid, 1901). [114] Testimony given before Hon. William H. Taft
in 1900 regarding the friars and their part in the old régime, by the
Spanish archbishop and heads of the orders themselves as well as by
Filipinos on the other side will be found in Senate Document no. 190,
56th Congress, 2nd session.
Friars' Estates.--The above document, which is entitled Lands
held for ecclesiastical or religious uses in the Philippines, also
gives information on the friars' rural estates. One will find no
comprehensive treatment of this subject before 1898, though it is
usually touched upon, often with great inaccuracy, in the anti-friar
pamphlets. For further data upon the subject in American official
reports, see: Report of War Department, 1900, i, part 4, pp. 502-508
(General Otis); Report of Taft Philippine Commission, 1900, pp. 23-33;
ibid., 1903, i, Exhibits F, G, H, and I; ibid., 1904, i, Exhibit I
(Report on Examination of Titles to Friars' Estates); and Report of
Secretary of War, 1902, appendix O (Rome negotiations of 1902). [115]
The Filipino clergy and their Cause.--Contests between secular and
regular ecclesiastics, and over the subjection of friar-curates to
ordinary jurisdiction had filled many pages of Philippine history
in every century. But, when revived under somewhat new forms from
about 1863 on, as remarked in the introduction to these notes, they
speedily assumed a new and rather distinct phase. The introduction
has noted the connection of the Jesuits' return with the encroachment
upon the Filipino secular priests and with the counter demand for the
belated subjection of the friar-parishes to the ordinary ecclesiastical
legislation and jurisdiction of the Church; under the encouragement
of the 1868 revolution in Spain, these demands grew apace from 1868
to 1872, and became interlaced with strictly political demands,
until finally we may regard the cause of the Filipino clergy as a
part of the campaign for Filipino nationalism. The reaction of 1872
and immediately subsequent years checked it, and it has found full
expression only since Spanish sovereignty was overthrown; but it is
best considered in its broadest scope, as a part of the Filipino
movement toward nationality, though it may have been but dimly or
not at all felt as such by some of its most active protagonists.
For the documents showing what was the modern phase of the question
regarding parishes in its beginnings, see the pamphlets cited in the
List of the Library of Congress under Agu[a]do (p. 64), and in Pardo
de Tavera's Biblioteca under the same name and numbers 681, 873,
1,348 and 1,962. [116] We must come down to the period of American
rule for full statements of the case of the Filipino clergy against
the friars. A Spanish cleric, formerly an Augustinian friar-curate,
who was excloistered on his own petition some time before the end
of Spanish rule and has since continued to reside in the islands,
has been the chief spokesman for the Filipino clergy. He is Salvador
Pons y Torres, and, apart from frequent contributions on the subject
to the press of Manila since 1898 and various pamphlets, he undertook
to review the entire subject in his Defensa del clero filipino and
its supplement El clero secular filipino, both published at Manila
in 1900; while in connection with the visit of Delegate Chapelle, a
campaign was being conducted for fuller recognition of the Filipino
clergy by the Vatican. [117] Their claims are set forth in Memorial
elevado á Sa Santidad El Papa León XIII por el Pueblo Filipino (Manila,
1900). [118] For the full exposition of the question, one must study
it under the Filipino revolution against the United States and in
the history of the Aglipay schism since 1903. [119]
Revolt of 1872.--That the chief victims of this episode were prominent
Filipino priests connects it rather with religio-political than with
purely political matters. The civilians who were arrested for too great
activity in agitating for political privileges were deported to Guam,
whence their escape to foreign ports was perhaps winked at, while after
a time some of them returned to the Philippines. [120] But the three
most prominent priests who were tried for complicity in the mutiny
at Cavite (Burgos, a Spanish-Filipino, Zamora, a Chinese-Filipino,
and Gomez, a pure-blooded Filipino) were condemned to death by a
very speedily summoned court-martial and were promptly executed. If
we had the record of the proofs submitted before this court-martial
(which acted very summarily and under pressure of official and other
demonstrations of indignation, not to say vindictiveness), and the
statement of its conclusions, we should be in better position to judge
whether or not a great injustice was done. But neither officially
nor semi-officially was the guilt of the condemned ever shown, and we
have either to accept very vehement and intemperate assertions about
it having been proved, or to incline to the belief that these men
were struck down by a power which stretched out its hand in the dark,
and that their death was a punishment for having ventured under the
preceding Liberal administrations to advocate the withdrawal of the
friars as curates of parishes. Certainly this became the belief of
the Filipino people, propagated from year to year by word of mouth
(acquiring thus exaggerated and distorted details as being of sober
truth), and occasionally finding expression in print. [121] The usually
sober and colorless Montero y Vidal becomes very rabid in his recital
of this episode in Philippine history and is very positive not only
in denouncing the priests who were executed and the deportees as
guilty but in proclaiming their movement as actually separatist
in character. He ridicules at length the account of the Frenchman
Plauchut in the Revue des deux mondes for 1877; but Plauchut, as well
as Montero y Vidal himself, was resident in or near Manila at the
time of these occurrences. Finally, Dr. Pardo de Tavera, a nephew of
one of the prominent Philippine Spaniards who were deported, supports
Plauchut's version and impeaches Montero y Vidal's. [122]
Reforms and Demands for more. "Assimilation."--The reactionists had
regained the saddle in the Philippines even before the Republic in
Spain came to an end; they used the incident of the Cavite mutiny as
a "horrible example," and succeeded in repealing or nullifying all
reforms not to their taste even in educational or purely administrative
matters. Till after 1880, the "Filipino cause" was in hiding. But
meanwhile young Filipinos of wealth were going abroad for education,
and above all a new generation of Filipinos were coming from the new
middle class produced by the better industrial opportunities consequent
upon expanding trade and commerce, were breathing in popular ideas
of hostility to the friars in the more advanced rural districts, and
were exchanging ideas, and imbibing in the exchange a new sentiment
of nationality, when they met, in constantly increasing numbers,
in the colleges and normal school at Manila, Tagálogs, Ilokanos,
Bisayans and others of the hitherto separate communities. Regional
feeling was still strong, but it was beginning to break down. [123]
Those who went abroad for education soon began to propagate the idea,
already half expressed at home, that Philippine education, even with
the improvements, was still archaic and in some ways anti-modern;
and every avenue out of this condition was found to be blocked by the
friars. If in reality the men of Spanish blood (in whole or part)
who had agitated for greater political liberties during 1868-72,
had aimed at separating the Philippines from Spain--and all the
reasonable probabilities are opposed to such a belief--at any
rate, the new generation of Filipinos who took up the cause in the
eighties were ardent and, for some time at least, sincere advocates
of Spanish-Philippine union. They carried the matter, indeed, to the
extreme, in the campaign for "assimilation," which has already been
characterized as unpractical.
Reforms of a partial nature, any statesman could predict, would breed
the demand for more. So, during the eighties, when most headway was
made in administrative and legal reforms under Liberal administrations,
we find the Filipinos formulating demands for the first time; and
it is significant that they all centered about the friars. Under the
liberal Governor-General Terrero, and with sympathetic Spaniards in
the posts of secretary of the civil administration and civil governor
of Manila, officers of some of the Tagálog towns ventured to display a
sense of independence of the traditional friar-dictatorship in local
affairs, even (in the case of Malolos and the Binondo district of
Manila) to carry contests with the friars over the personal tax-lists
before higher authority; the friars' tenants around Kalamba, where
José Rizal's parents lived, challenged the administrator of that
Dominican estate, and aired their protests publicly in 1887; [124]
and in 1888 a public demonstration against the friars, and especially
Archbishop Payo, took place in Manila, and a petition for the removal
of the friars was addressed to the Queen Regent. In 1887 these
civil authorities of Liberal affiliation had issued official orders
regarding cemeteries and church funerals, contravening, on grounds
of public health, long-standing practices of the friar-curates; and
the friars, even the archbishop, had been almost openly intransigent
about the matter, indicating the belief that they would soon upset
this régime of affairs by the exercise of their power at Madrid. The
demand on the part of some Spanish periodicals of Manila that the
proposed government trade school should not be surrendered to the
Augustinians was another indication of the current of the times. [125]
In form at least, there was nothing in any of these demonstrations
or representations which would not be perfectly legitimate under
any free government. Yet, even before the expiration of Terrero's
term, he was prevailed upon to send home Centeno y García, the civil
governor of Manila, and the processes of law had been set in action by
judicial authority against some of the participants. And, even before
the downfall of the Liberal ministry at Madrid, the mere display of
a disposition on the part of Filipinos to speak for themselves as
a people had started the currents of reaction there. Weyler was the
successor of Terrero as Governor-General. The friars' representations
at Madrid obtained, while the Liberal minister Becerra [126] was
still in office, the omission of the provisions for civil marriage and
registration from the Civil Code as it was extended to the Philippines
in 1889. Weyler used force to quell the subsequent disturbances at
Kalamba, and among the score or so of deportees were some of Rizal's
family. [127]
The Propagandists.--A full history of the Filipino Propaganda would
list a large number of names, both of members of the Filipino colonies
abroad and of secret agitators and wealthy contributors at home. But
the story must be developed from the various sources to be cited, and
we are concerned here with those who figured most actively by their
writings. Of these, Marcelo H. del Pilar and José Rizal were altogether
the most notable, their prominence indeed leading to the formation
of factions about them and the display of those personal jealousies
which wreck or threaten to wreck every Filipino movement. [128] It is
significant that the propagandists coming to the front in the eighties
were, one may say, genuine "sons of the people" though associated with
them were others who were sons of the half-caste aristocracy. It is
significant also, that, though these two leaders Del Pilar and Rizal,
came from Bulakan and Laguna provinces respectively, the heart of the
more advanced communities of Tagálogs around Manila, yet the islands as
a whole were beginning to be represented in the propaganda, notably by
the Lunas, from Ilokos, and Graciano Lopez Jaena, a Bisayan. The latter
started the first Filipino periodical of consequence, La Solidaridad,
and published eighteen numbers of it at Barcelona up to October 31,
1889, when Del Pilar took charge of it, transferred it to Madrid and
edited it there as a fortnightly till 1895. It was face to face with
La Política de España en Filipinas from 1891, and, as the latter
is the chief source for the pro-friar and anti-liberal side of the
controversy, so La Solidaridad, which circulated among the educated
Filipinos in many parts of the archipelago despite the censorship,
is the chief source for the writings of the propagandists. [129]
Marcelo H. del Pilar had taken an active part in stimulating
opposition to the friar-curates, particularly in matters of local
government, in his native province (Bulakan) for some years before
the troubles of 1888. When the pendulum swung towards reaction, he
left his family (being then a man of middle-age) and went to Spain
to carry on the fight close by the center of government, support of
his campaign being pledged by a committee who undertook to secure
Filipino subscriptions, certain wealthy Filipinos being identified
privately with the cause. Del Pilar's writings show nothing of the
poet or dreamer, as do Rizal's; he had, in some degree, an "economic
mind," though entirely untrained in that line, and he was at the
outset of the active propaganda in Spain (1889) a maturer man than
Rizal. Coming straight from the problems of actual life among his
people, he stated their grievances with more practical reference to
direct and immediate remedies and with special reference to their
economic status; while Rizal, as a student in contact with modern
European life and thought, dreamed of and preached, in more general
terms but on a far wider scope, the social regeneration of his people
and the expansion of their political rights. Del Pilar would have
made a good representative of his people in the Cortes. But Rizal
was a genius, who with the touch of imagination and satire lifted the
cause of the Filipinos to a place in the thought of the world, and at
the same time, as poet and patriot combined, fired the enthusiasm of
his own people and became their idol. And, in the course of events,
it was Rizal who proved the soberer, the more mature as time went
by. He was opposed to means of violence, even to the last, and the
whole record bears out his protestations on this score; he still
looked to the future as a dreamer-patriot, but he also looked to
the present state of his people and saw that the most vital problem
was the teaching them that they must raise themselves by their own
efforts, must deserve a better destiny. Del Pilar, disappointed
by the failure to achieve greater immediate, practical results by
relying upon the progress of Liberalism in Spain, after seven years
of propaganda along these lines, was starting for Hongkong or Japan,
to conduct there a really revolutionary campaign, when death overtook
him shortly before the Tagálog revolt in 1896. He had, apparently,
lost faith in the ideals of "assimilation," of Spanish-Filipino unity,
which he had set forth in glowing phrases in 1888 and 1889. He had
also, apparently, become convinced that the upper-class Filipinos,
especially the most wealthy and prominent, were too lukewarm or too
prone to temporize for safety's sake, that the time had come to make
the cause more distinctly one of the people as a whole. He is credited
with having suggested and outlined the organization of the Katipunan,
and he seems to have concluded that it was time for the Filipinos to
resort to Cuba's example and not to political petitions only. [130]
Even in Noli me tangere, first published under his own eye at Berlin
in 1887, when Rizal, at the age of twenty-six, was just fairly setting
out in life, there are many evidences that the author, if he meant
primarily to set before the world the backwardness of the existing
social and political régime in the Philippines, its stifling of
thought, and its many tyrannies, had also in mind to set before his
people, in some of his instantaneous photographs of Philippine life,
their own defects. In El filibusterismo (Ghent, 1891), the more
mature reformer preached yet more plainly the necessity of social
and political progress beginning from below, and not simply inspired
from above. That his people took the lessons meant for themselves
(and take them still today) less to heart than they responded to the
satire and invective directed against the form of rule imposed upon
them, was the fault not of Rizal but of human nature, prone to apply
the preacher's words only to the other fellow.
It is a great misfortune that we have in English no real translation
of Noli me tangere, [131] and none at all of El filibusterismo,
which, as a political document, is the stronger of the two. [132]
It is no less regrettable that no biography of Rizal, tracing his
mental development and his relation with the events of 1880 to 1896,
nor even a good biographical sketch of him, has been published in the
English language. Retana's biographical and bibliographical notes,
published in a Madrid monthly, Nuestro Tiempo, 1904-06, and about to
appear in book form, are indispensable as the only comprehensive work
on the subject, and resort must be had to them for a full array of
citations, as also for many documents not available elsewhere. [133]
Rizal's edition (Paris, 1890) of Morga's Sucesos de las islas Filipinas
has already been cited in connection with that work in VOLS. XV and
XVI of this series (see note 3 of former). Its annotations are Rizal's
chief contribution to the history of his people, and it must be said
that his political feeling has crept into them to the damage often
of their scientific value. [134] There also deserve mention here
Rizal's discussion in 1889 of the future of his people, [135] and
some of Blumentritt's writings about Rizal and in his defense. [136]
Masonry, Liga Filipina, etc.--In almost all the Spanish writings
about the Philippine insurrection, especially those by friars, we find
it ascribed primarily to "Franc-Masonería," the terrible bugaboo in
naming which the Spanish friar sums up in one word his notion of all
that is pernicious in modern life since the French Revolution, and
the chief cause of the loss by Spain of her American colonies. So,
as to the Philippines, the argument is, had not Spanish Masons been
able secretly to organize there, and to pervert the minds of certain
Filipinos, the colony would have remained in its loyalty of primitive
simplicity and happiness. The truth is that Masonry played a very
secondary part in the Filipino agitation for reform, furnishing simply
a convenient medium for conducting the propaganda. Up to the last
ten years of Spanish rule, only a few lodges of Spanish Liberals and
foreigners, into which some of the half-castes and more well-to-do
Filipinos had been admitted, had been organized in the Philippines,
and had led a rather irregular existence. At about the time when La
Solidaridad was moved to Madrid, a Spanish-Filipino Association was
there formed, in which Spaniards and Filipinos combined to agitate
for reform. This circle was virtually identified in membership with
a certain Spanish Grand Lodge (probably spurious, as regards the
legitimate parent organization of Free Masonry), which delegated
agents to conduct the active organization of new Philippine lodges
dependent upon it. It appears certain that this was done with the idea
definitely in view of being able thus to propagate liberal political
ideas and secretly distribute such literature among the Filipinos,
also the more easily to raise funds for the work. But had not such
a favorable means of conducting the propaganda been presented, it
would have been improvised. One must subject to critical examination
the Spanish writings, and will readily discover their exaggerated
deductions from such facts as came to light. [137] Interesting reading
is afforded by the confidential Royal Order of July 2, 1896, addressed
to Governor-General Blanco. [138] It approves his deportation of the
principales, or headmen, of Malolos and Taal (who had defied the
local friar-curates), and orders him to have provincial and other
officials watch and report confidentially on all secret organizations
(forbidden by the Laws of the Indies, as recited in Royal Order of
August 2, 1888) and list all persons of whom "there may be indications
enough to believe that they are affiliated," etc. (opening up thus
a splendid opportunity for private denunciations). He is to use in
this secret work only officials who are Peninsulars, never natives;
so also he is to invite coöperation of "the parish-priests who belong
to the religious orders." As to punishments, it is preferable to deport
the "suspected," fixing their residence in the Moro country or Guam,
rather than to exile them, as they would then join the colonies abroad
and conduct a propaganda.
The project of Marcelo del Pilar for an association called Solidaridad
Filipina, [139] which came to nothing practical, and the Liga Filipina,
organized by Rizal just before his deportation from Manila in July,
1892, though in part modeled after Masonry, are among the things
which show that the Filipino propagandists did not confine their
efforts to Masonic organization. Our Spanish sources would have it
that the Liga Filipina was really separatist in character, and the
prosecution deliberately based upon this charge the demand for Rizal's
conviction in 1896. It remains unproved, and the statutes of the League
as prepared by Rizal [140] entirely support his assertion that the
design of the League was to foster coöperation among the Filipinos,
to "raise the arts and sciences," and develop Filipino commercial and
economic interests generally. The organization was a fraternal society,
in effect, the aim being to bring Filipinos closer together in a
"brotherhood," and incidentally to undermine the control of Chinese
and others upon the trade of the country--in which respects it would
likely have proved mostly utopian, even had not political conditions
and Rizal's deportation brought it virtually to naught. In the pledges
of its "brothers" to stand by each other for the "remedy of abuses"
as well as for other things, the League very plainly looked toward
unity of action in matters social and political, and no doubt the
idea of bringing his people together for such political action as
might become possible was foremost in the mind of Rizal and its other
organizers. But this does not prove the charge that it merely covered
up a plan to get arms and rise in rebellion as soon as possible.
The Katipunan.--We come now to the parting of the ways. Just as Marcelo
del Pilar had concluded that the time was at hand for more vigorous
measures, so on the other hand some of the Filipinos of education
and social position (cautious also, in some cases, because of their
property) had become discouraged and faint-hearted. The deportation
of Rizal had its effect in 1892, and the local government reforms of
1893-94 were followed by a reactionary government in Spain which might
nullify even such concessions, in the face of the constant demand for a
check upon the half-liberal régime of Blanco. Some of the middle-class
leaders of Manila, who had been drawn into the Masonic movement, had
decided that the time had come to organize the masses, at least in the
Tagálog provinces. Andrés Bonifacio, an employe of a foreign business
house in Manila, was the leading spirit; gathering his ideas of modern
reform from reading Spanish treatises on the French Revolution, he had
imbibed also a notion that the methods of the mob in Paris were those
best adapted to secure amelioration for the Filipinos. His ideas were
those of a socialist, and of a socialist of the French Revolution type,
and he thought them applicable to an undeveloped tropical country,
where the pressure of industrial competition is almost unknown,
and where with the slightest reasonable exertion starvation may be
dismissed from thought. There was in this new propaganda an element
of resentment toward the wealthy, upper-class Filipinos, the landed
proprietors in general, as well as toward the friar landlords and
the whole fabric of government and society resting on them. Summing
up all the evidence he has been able to obtain on the Katipunan, the
writer agrees with Felipe G. Calderón, a Filipino, in his opinion
[141] that its socialistic character negatives the assertion of
the Spanish writers that the upper-class Filipinos were its real
supporters and directors, working in the background; and that, while
this propaganda from below looked to independence and the substitution
of Spanish rule by Filipino rule, yet it was without any political
program, properly speaking, and there was merely a crude idea in
the minds of the masses that they were somehow going to shake off
their masters, get rid of the whites, and divide up the big estates
not only of the friars but of Filipino landholders as well. Calderón
does not discuss the alleged plan of the Katipunan to assassinate the
whites, especially the friars. It is certain that such bloodthirsty
ideas were in the minds of some of the leaders; but the more direct
documentary evidence that has been produced on this point is perhaps
open to the suspicion that it was manufactured in connection with
the courts-martial which operated with such fury after the outbreak
of revolt in 1896. [142] After all the furore that had been made, the
actual revelations as to the importance of the organization, character
of its leaders, number of its followers, and extent of its operations,
would have made the whole affair somewhat ridiculous, had it not been
represented that behind this humble organization of perhaps forty
thousand initiates in the Tagálog towns there was a great program for
setting up an independent government and that the upper-class Filipinos
were simply using this organization as a stalking-horse. The truth
appears to be that, while these over-important Katipunan leaders
thought in terms grandiloquent, and led their humble followers in
the towns around Manila most affected by the propaganda to indulge
in futile and ridiculous dreams of a coming millennium (while some of
themselves were quarreling over the obols contributed), the movement
was mostly talk even up to the time when an Augustinian curate in
Manila made himself the hero of the rabid Spanish element in Manila by
"exposing" an organization about which the governmental authorities
had had partial information for some weeks, or even months. Bonifacio
started this separate organization in 1894, but Calderón seems to be
correct in saying that work in the towns outside of Manila was only
begun in the spring of 1896. The humble followers were assured that
the Japanese government would help them oust Spain, and that rifles
to arm the whole population would come from there. But Japan never
in the least violated her obligations to Spain, and, if the leaders
even bought any rifles in Japan, they must have been few indeed. [143]
When Bonifacio sent an emissary to Dapitan in the spring of 1896, to
propose to Rizal a plan of armed revolt and that he should escape on
a steam vessel sent for the purpose, and join in this campaign, Rizal
rejected the proposition as folly, and displayed his great impatience
with it. [144] On every ground, it seems probable that, had not Friar
Gil and the Spanish press of Manila been so insistent on giving great
publicity to some Katipunan engraving-stones, receipts for dues, etc.,
kept in hiding by the affiliated employes of a Spanish newspaper,
the revolt might never have come about at all. Certainly, no date was
set for it (though various future dates had been vaguely discussed),
till the sudden arrests of August 19 and 20, 1896, sent Bonifacio and
his companions fleeing to Bulakan Province where, practically without
arms, they appealed to their fellow-workers in Bulakan, Manila, and
Cavite provinces to rise in revolt on August 30. The friars and the
rabid element of Spanish patriots were so anxious to force the hand
of Blanco, and to discredit him, that, it may be, they forced upon a
military commander whose troops were mostly in Mindanao a revolt that,
a few months further on, might either have dissipated itself or have
been avoided by an adequate show of force. [145]
Because the friars are so much to the fore in all the discussions of
these events, we must not overlook the part played by governmental
abuses, as already described. The Civil Guard, given a more extensive
organization and scope of action during these closing years of Spanish
rule, by its abuses (committed, for the most part, by Filipinos
upon their own fellows) played probably the foremost part in drawing
odium upon the government. [146] Next to police abuses, and sometimes
allied with them, were the misuses of the powers of local government
(with which alone the great majority of the people came into direct
contact), especially in regard to the levy of forced labor; and here
again, the humble Filipino's complaint was chiefly against his own
fellow-countrymen of power and position. But, summing up all the
administrative abuses and all the evils of the government system, we
are still left a long way from agreement with the friars' assertions
that the masses loved them and that governmental abuses were the sole
cause of rebellion. [147]
Insurrection of 1896-97.--No history from the Filipino side has
yet come to light, and there are certain points that can be cleared
up only by the frank testimony of the Filipino participants. [148]
We are dependent chiefly on Spanish sources, written in the passion
of the times by men not careful about sifting the facts. All things
considered, the two best sources, both for what they say and for
what may be inferred from them, are the so-called Memorias of two
Governor-Generals, prepared in order to defend their administrations
before the Spanish Senate and the public; that of Blanco covering the
preparatory stage and early months of the rebellion, that of Primo
de Rivera its closing stages. Between these two Governor-Generals,
the work of Monteverde y Sedano covers the military operations under
Polavieja.
Blanco's Memoria [149] affords, unconsciously, the most severe
indictment that could be passed on Spain's fitness to hold the
Philippines (or her other colonies) in 1898. This man was really of
liberal temperament; he had formed a just conception of the real
insignificance of the Katipunan movement; and he strove, when the
crisis was prematurely forced on him, to restrain the vindictiveness
of the rabid Spanish element, and really believed in the efficacy of a
"policy of attraction." But instead of setting forth on broader grounds
the reasons for his course of action and discussing with sincerity
and frankness a policy for the Philippines, he felt compelled after
his return to Spain to bow before the howls of press and public. He
defends himself before his clerical-conservative critics not by showing
the folly of their illiberal policy for the colony, but endeavors
to prove that they were wrong in accusing him of lack of severity as
well as of energy. Thus we learn (p. 20) that, even under a Blanco,
before the outbreak came, one thousand and forty-two persons had been
deported "as Masons, disaffected and suspicious or harmful to their
towns." During the night of August 19-20, 1896, following the sensation
created by Friar Gil, there were forty-three arrests in Manila, and
three hundred more within the next week. During September, thirty
seven men taken in arms were shot, after summary trials (p. 25.) The
number of Filipinos, mostly men of some position, who had not taken
up arms, but were arrested for alleged complicity in the Katipunan,
and involved in the trials before a special court for conspiracy and
sedition, very soon mounted to five hundred, including those sent
in from the provinces. Some remained incomunicados for more than
forty days. The men executed from September 4 to December 12, 1896,
when Blanco surrendered command to Polavieja, numbered seventy-four
in all. [150]
Evidence as to the "reign of terror" that was inaugurated in Manila may
be drawn from the Spanish treatises to be cited, wherein the episode
is recited with gusto. The Spanish press of Manila for 1896-98;
also that of Spain, especially Philippine letters of 1896-98 in La
Política de España en Filipinas, El Heraldo, El Imparcial and El
Correo of Madrid, furnished the original source of information for
these writers, and should be used to supplement this history of the
insurrection. Transcriptions of testimony taken by the special court
for sedition and conspiracy appear in Retana's Archivo, iii and iv, and
evidences that the more yielding witnesses had their phraseology, and
sometimes their statements of fact, dictated to them will be noted by
the careful reader, especially if he be familiar with Spanish methods
of judicial procedure. References to the common use of torture to
make witnesses (in some cases eager enough to insure their own safety
by "delation") sign such testimony, will be found in the Filipino
press since 1898, occasionally also in Spanish periodicals of Manila
since 1898. [151] These same sources also supplement the citations
on Rizal already given, for the story of his trial and execution,
and the increase of severity and terrorism after Polavieja took
charge. They are also, in the main, our sole, fragmentary sources
on the state of Cavite during insurgent control of the province,
the insurgent organization, etc. [152]
The Spanish treatises and pamphlets on the insurrection are: [153]
José M. del Castillo y Jimenez, El Katipunan, ó el Filibusterismo
en Filipinas (Madrid, 1897). Partial accounts of events of 1896-97;
already characterized as rabid and cheaply patriotic.
Ricardo Monet y Carretero, Comandancia general de Panay y
Negros. Alteraciones de órden público ... desde Octubre de 1896 á
Marzo de 1897 (Iloilo, 1897). Mostly official proclamations, etc.,
by the author as commander in the western district of Bisayas,
regarding disturbances there and symptoms of a tendency to revolt.
E. Reverter y Delmas.--Filipinos por España. Narración episódica de la
rebelión en el archipiélago Filipino (Barcelona, 1897); 2 vols. The
title of a later edition is La insurrección de Filipinas. Known to
the writer only by title. [154]
Enrique Abella y Casariego, Filipinas (Madrid, 1898). More temperate
than most other Spanish writings. Treats of the development of the
insurrection, and of the course of events under Blanco, Polavieja,
and Primo de Rivera.
Federico de Monteverde y Sedano, Campaña de Filipinas, La división
Lachambre. 1897 (Madrid, 1898.) Excellent account of the campaign
of Polavieja by his aide; somewhat grandiloquent, considering the
comparative insignificance of the military operations themselves.
Les Philippines et l'insurrection de 1896-1897 (Paris, 1899); a
thirty-nine-page reprint from Revue militaire de l'étranger.
L. Aycart--La campaña de Filipinas. Recuerdos é impresiones de
un médico militar (Madrid, 1900). Contains some charts and some
interesting data on the military campaign as such.
Manuel Sastrón--La insurrección en Filipinas y guerra hispano-americana
(Madrid, 1901). [155] Written by a Spanish official in Manila during
this time, and composed of accounts and documents drawn mainly from
the press of Manila. It is, however, the most useful arsenal of data.
Major John S. Mallory--The Philippine Insurrection, 1896-1898
(appendix viii to report of Major-General G. W. Davis, commanding
the division of the Philippines, in Report of War Department, 1903,
vol. 3, pp. 399-425). A non-critical compilation, mostly from Sastrón
and Monteverde y Sedano. It is, however, by far the best review
of the 1896-97 insurrection as such that is available in English,
and is a fairly satisfactory account for one who cannot consult the
Spanish sources. Far better than Foreman's account.
M. Arroyo Vea-Murguía--Defensa del sitio de Naic (Filipinas). Antes
y despues. (Madrid, 1904.) Of little value.
The Pact of Biak-na-bató.--Purposely, the word "treaty," so often
applied to this transaction, is here avoided; for, apart from
technical objections to a word that applies to agreements between
sovereign powers, this was no treaty in any sense of the word. There
was some mystery surrounding the negotiations by which the insurgent
chiefs surrendered a few hundred nondescript firearms and retired to
Hongkong; untrue or half-true charges were bandied back and forth,
for political effect, in the Cortes and the press of Spain; and,
of the chief actors in the affair, only Primo de Rivera has given
his account--perhaps not with entire frankness. [156] Aguinaldo has
confined his statements on the subject to the most brief assertions
of a general nature [157] to the effect that reforms by the Spanish
government were promised. Primo de Rivera categorically denies this;
while Pedro A. Paterno, the go-between, has made no statement at
all during the nine years that have passed since the conflicting
statements have been before the public, involving directly the
question of his own veracity and good faith. Primo de Rivera is an
ex parte witness, to be sure; but his statements upon the more vital
points involved are corroborated by the very insurgent documents on
this subject captured by the American army in 1899 and now in the
War Department at Washington. [158] Primo de Rivera says that, when
Paterno presented a paper early in the negotiations containing a full
program of reforms, [159] he rejected the document absolutely, saying
he could not discuss such matters with the insurgent chiefs, that
the Spanish government would accord such reforms as it thought wise,
and he could only interpose his good offices to make recommendations
in that respect. The copy of this document now in the War Department
at Washington shows the clauses about reform to have been crossed
out. Primo de Rivera says that, from that time forth, the negotiation
was purely on the basis of a payment to the rebel chiefs to surrender
their arms, order the insurgents in the other provinces to do the same,
and emigrate to foreign parts. The only documents bearing signatures on
both sides, either of those published at Washington or elsewhere, refer
exclusively to these particular points of money, surrender of arms,
and program of emigration, though Paterno inserted in a preliminary
of the final contract on these subjects a clause as to reposing
confidence in the Spanish government to "satisfy the desire of the
Filipino people." [160] Primo de Rivera recommended the transaction to
his government for one reason, expressly because it would "discredit
[desprestigiando] the chiefs selling out and emigrating." [161]
The first proposition of the insurgents was for 3,000,000 pesos; Primo
de Rivera acceded, under authority from Madrid, to 1,700,000 pesos;
and the total sum named in the contract signed on December 14, 1897, is
800,000 pesos. When Aguinaldo and his twenty-seven companions reached
Hongkong, they received 400,000 pesos and never any more. Though
really looking at it as a bribe, the Spanish government had consented
to the money payment ostensibly on the ground of indemnity to widows,
orphans, and those who had suffered property losses by the war, and
to provide support for the insurgent chiefs abroad. That it was the
idea of at least some of the insurgent leaders that the money was
to be divided between them is shown by a protest signed by eight
of those who remained behind to secure the surrender of more arms
than the paltry number of two hundred and twenty-five turned over at
Biak-na-bató, appealing to Primo de Rivera for "their share." [162]
The latter says he turned over to these men and Paterno the 200,000
pesos of the second payment (the actual disposition of which is
unknown [163]); and that he turned over the remaining 200,000 pesos
to Governor-General Augustín in April, 1898, when it was evident that
peace had not been assured, after all. As to the remaining 900,000
pesos which Primo de Rivera had authority to pay, but which did not
appear in the final contract, Primo de Rivera says (pp. 133, 134)
that Paterno omitted them from the document because they were to be
used to "indemnify those not in arms," and that he did not "think it
prudent to inquire further about them at the time." [164]
Enough has been developed to show the demoralizing character of the
transaction. In justice to Aguinaldo and his closest associates,
it is to be said that they had kept the money practically intact,
for use in a possible future insurrection, until they spent some of
it for arms after Commodore Dewey's victory in Manila Bay. [165]
Nor are we able to say categorically that Aguinaldo and the other
leaders in Biak-na-bató were not led to believe that specific reforms
had been promised verbally by Primo de Rivera in the name of his
government; Aguinaldo and Paterno could clear up that matter, but
neither speaks. Just what informal discussion of this subject there
was between Paterno and Primo de Rivera, we do not know; but the
latter's own version will warrant the conclusion that he at least
permitted Paterno to lay before the insurgents the fact that he was
making recommendations on this line, and to hold out the expectation
of results, once he was not confronted with armed rebellion. [166] He
declares that a scheme of Philippine reform, covering also the friar
question, had been drawn up and agreed upon, when Premier Cánovas
was assassinated and the Conservatives soon after fell from power;
but he does not tell us what were the reforms as to the friars. Primo
de Rivera continued to give his ideas as to the need for reform in
provision of parishes, church fees, local government, education, civil
service, etc., after the Liberals came into power. Yet, though stating
the case against the friars in strong terms, virtually confirming every
charge made against them, he appears to have advised only a curtailment
of their power and a more rigid discipline, not their elimination as
parish-priests, which was the aim of most of the insurgents. [167]
When a Spanish editor in Manila began writing in February, 1898, of
political reforms in the direction of "autonomy," without submitting
his articles to previous censure, Primo de Rivera suspended publication
of the periodical. [168] That Spanish circles in Manila as well as
the Filipinos were in expectation, in late 1897 and early 1898, of
the announcement of some comprehensive scheme of Philippine reform, is
apparent from the press of the time. [169] The Liberal press of Madrid
and Barcelona was also actively agitating reform for the Philippines,
and Spanish Liberals and Filipinos addressed petitions on the subject
to the government at Madrid. [170] The general belief at Manila was
also that some sort of promise of reforms had passed at Biak-na-bató,
even that it included the gradual withdrawal of the friars. [171] That
the religious orders themselves knew that they were the storm-center
is sufficiently shown by the Memorial of April 21, 1898, reproduced
post, pp. 227-286. [172]
The Question of Independence.--We have, on one hand, the assertions
of rabid Spanish writers that separation from Spain was throughout
the real aim of the Filipino leaders, who merely covered it under
a plea for reforms (the friars say, under a false assertion that
the Filipinos were opposed to them). We have, in direct opposition,
the assertions of Spanish Liberals and of some Filipinos that the
movement was inspired by genuine loyalty to Spain, and was only a
protest and appeal for reforms even in its last phase as an outbreak
in arms, 1896-98. This view was accepted by the Schurman Commission
in 1899. Again, during the years from 1898 to date, when demands
for independence were made upon the United States, the more radical
Filipino leaders, first in insurrection, now in political agitation,
have asserted that complete political independence was definitely the
aim in 1896-97, and was the ideal in mind for some years before. Thus
they would corroborate the assertions of the more rabid Spaniards who
claimed that Rizal and all his co-workers, both in the aristocratic
ranks above and in the Katipunan below, were hypocritical in their
protestations of loyalty to Spain. Where does the truth lie?
The fact is, one can sustain any view he prefers to take of
this subject, by detached citations from documents of one sort or
another. The real answer is to be found only by a careful survey of all
the evidence as to Filipino activities and aspirations. We note that,
when Rizal discusses the possibility of future independence for his
people, he sets it as a century hence. We need not take him literally,
nor, on the other hand, need we say his title was merely hypocritical,
and he was insidiously inciting his people to think of immediate
independence; we shall be fairer to survey his writings as a whole,
probably reaching the conclusion that the independence of his people
was constantly in his mind, but sober reason warned him to restrain
his and their youthful impatience on the subject. In discussing
Del Pilar and Rizal, it has already been pointed out how the former
changed places with the younger man and became the more impatient of
the two; and the connection of this growing impatience with the more
violent nature of the Katipunan has been shown. So it is not enough to
cite detached passages from Rizal or Del Pilar, for example, to prove
either that they were just filibusters under cover of protestations or,
on the contrary, that they never dreamed of independence. [173] The
propagandists felt differently at different times, under the pressure
sometimes of self-interest, influenced sometimes by momentary incidents
or passions. It is plain that, with some of them at least, a new tone
had been adopted toward Spain when, at the beginning of 1896, the
manifesto of the Katipunan organ to the Filipinos bitterly exclaimed:
"At the end of three hundred years of slavery ..., our people have
done nothing but lament and ask a little consideration and a little
clemency; but they have answered our lamentations with exile and
imprisonment. For seven years in succession La Solidaridad voluntarily
lent itself and exhausted its powers to obtain, not all that they
ought to concede, but only just what of right is owing to us. And
what has been the fruit of our effort unto fatigue and of our loyal
faith? Deception, ridicule, death, and bitterness.
"Today, tired of lifting our hands in continual lamentation, we are
at last ourselves; little by little our voice has lost its tone of
melancholy gained in continual complaint; now ... we raise our heads,
so long accustomed to being bowed, and imbibe strength from the firm
hope we possess by reason of the grandeur of our aim.... We can tell
them bluntly that the phrase 'Spain the Mother' is nothing but just
a bit of adulation, that it is not to be compared with the piece of
cloth or rag by which it is enchained, which trails on the ground;
that there is no such mother and no such child; that there is only
a race that robs, a people that fattens on what is not its own, and
a people that is weary of going, not merely ungorged, but unfed;
that we have to put reliance in nothing but our own powers and in
our defense of our own selves."
Rizal put in the mouth of the old Filipino priest in El Filibusterismo
(1891) the view of the thoughtful Filipino patriot, considering
the social defects of his people: "We owe the ill that afflicts us
to ourselves; let us not put the blame on anyone else. If Spain saw
that we were less complaisant in the face of tyranny, and readier to
strive and suffer for our rights, Spain would be the first to give
us liberty.... But so long as the Filipino people has not sufficient
vigor to proclaim, with erect front and bared breast, its right to
the social life and to make that right good by sacrifice, with its
own blood; so long as we see that our countrymen, though hearing in
their private life the voice of shame and the clamors of conscience,
yet in public life hold their peace or join the chorus about him who
commits abuses and ridicules the victim of the abuse; so long as we see
them shut themselves up to their own egotism and praise with forced
smile the most iniquitous acts, while their eyes are begging a part
of the booty of such acts, why should liberty be given to them? With
Spain or without Spain, they would be always the same, and perhaps,
perhaps, they would be worse. Of what use would be independence if
the slaves of today would be the tyrants of tomorrow? And they would
be so without doubt, for he loves tyranny who submits to it."
Doubtless Rizal felt that his people had made progress toward social
independence in the five years that followed, till the Katipunan
outbreak came; but he condemned that beforehand as a foolish venture,
and reprobated it as harmful to Filipino interests before his
death. Though in a sense this was a movement for independence, we
have seen that only vague ideas of a political organization were in
the minds of the leaders, while the deluded masses who followed them
with, for the most part, bolos only, had virtually no idea of such an
organization, except that Filipinos should succeed Spaniards. [174]
The prematurely commenced revolt, as it gained at the outset, some
defensive advantages over the bad military organization of Spain,
developed ideas and aspirations quite beyond the early crude dreams
of its leaders; they were really surprised at their own (temporary)
success, and emboldened thereby. [175] Even after the loss of Cavite,
when the revolutionists were hemmed in and hiding in the Bulakan
Mountains, they put forward, in an "Assembly" at Biak-na-bató, a more
comprehensive and ambitious political program (a Filipino Republic,
in short) than had ever before been drawn up by Filipinos. [176]
We know also that no small part was played by the "reign of terror"
in turning even the moderate Filipinos against Spanish rule as an
entirety. We should be far from the truth if we should say that
this Tagálog rebellion, and the demonstrations of sympathy with
it in other provinces, brought the Filipino people together in a
unanimous sentiment for independence. That it did greatly stimulate
this feeling is certain. He would be a bold man who would now assert
that independence was not the common aspiration, when outside pressure
suddenly pricked the bubble of Spanish authority in 1898 and released
the people for the free expression of their sentiments. But he is
equally bold who asserts that the Filipino people had been suddenly
and miraculously transformed into a real nation by these events, or
that the Aguinaldo government had the support of or really represented
the whole country, above all of the most sober-thinking Filipinos.
EVENTS IN FILIPINAS, 1841-1872
This period, opening with the coming of Governor Marcelino de Oraá
Lecumberri, and closing during the governorship of Rafael de Izquierdo
y Gutierrez, is one of the most important and critical in the history
of the Philippines. It witnessed the insurrection of Tayabas (1841)
under the leadership of Apolinario de la Cruz (q.v., ante, pp. 92,
93); the use of steamships against the Moros (1848), whereby the
Spaniards gained great advantage; approval for the Spanish-Filipino
bank, August 1, 1851, with a capital stock of 400,000 pesos, and
2,000 shares of 200 pesos each, of which 1,000 shares were to be
acquired by the obras pías and 1,000 were open to the public (the
bank beginning operation in 1852); the reinstatement of the Jesuits
(October 19, 1852; although the first band did not arrive until the
middle of 1859), whereby education was given a slightly freer movement;
[177] the famous educational laws of December 20, 1863, and other
educational orders, decrees, and regulations (q.v., VOL. XLVI); the
Spanish revolution of 1867-68, and the new constitution; the opening
of the Suez Canal (November 17, 1869), by which communication with the
mother-country was rendered quicker and easier, and liberalism given
more decided tendencies; and lastly, the Cavite insurrection of 1872,
which ended with the execution of three native secular priests. During
this period there were in all fourteen regularly-appointed governors,
and eleven provisional terms, in the latter, Ramon Montero y Blandino
serving three times, and Joaquin del Solar twice--the average of each
term (regular and provisional) being slightly over one year. This was
comparatively a period of newspaper activity, about thirty newspapers
being founded during these years. The entire period may be called
the period of adolescence.
Conditions in Spain were to a certain extent reflected in the
islands. Confusion and uncertainty in the Peninsula had their
counterpart in the colony. The administrational experiments of the
Madrid officials extended to the government of the colonies, and
there were many changes which vitally affected the Philippines. Some
of the new laws were good; others show a greater or less ignorance
regarding the islands. Throughout, however, the prevailing tone is
one of greater liberalism.
To be classed under foreign politics of the period were the laws
regulating foreign commerce; the slight contact with the Dutch who
appeared to be making overtures for a settlement in the Southern
Islands; some negotiations with the celebrated Rajah Brooke; and the
campaign of Cochinchina, in which the Spaniards aided the French.
Local politics show great activity. Provincial limits were changed and
fixed, and new provinces were created. Special subordinate governments
were created for the Visayan Islands and for the Marianas. Police
regulations were made, and bodies of police created. There were
city improvements in Manila. Reforms were instituted in the various
provinces in regard to the alcaldes-mayor. Various departments of
the government were also reorganized. In 1867-68 new regulations were
adopted for the management of the Audiencia of Manila.
In nothing is the upward trend more strongly marked than in economic
lines. The measures passed were often groping, it is true, but yet
on the whole looked toward the greater light. There was an attempt
to exploit the coal mines of the islands, and mining regulations
were made. Agriculture received attention (see post, appendix on
agriculture). Commerce was given greater concessions, and the customs
duties were revised. Provincial chiefs were forbidden to engage in
trade. Various acts of legislation regarding monetary conditions,
the establishment of a mint, and the coinage of special money for
the Philippines attest the greater commercial activity. There was
considerable legislation in regard to tobacco. The many laws regarding
the Chinese have a purely economic basis. Topographical maps which
were ordered made and the new roads ordered constructed indicate a
desire to know the country and its conditions better. Exhibits of
Philippine products were made at the world's fair in London in 1851
and 1862. Telegraphic regulations were made in 1869.
For religious and educational influences of this period see the
religious appendix in our VOL. XXVIII, and the educational appendices
in VOLS. XLV and XLVI. An important order of January 15, 1849, forbade
the religious orders to alienate their property. A decree of June 20,
1849 gave the Recollects charge of the island of Negros, and they did
considerable work there and developed the island somewhat, although
they but built on previous efforts, and did not accomplish as much
as has been claimed. The reëstablished Society of Jesus was given
control of the mission work of Mindanao in 1861. The suppression of
the house of St. John of God in Manila and the establishment of the
Sisters of Charity were asked from the pope in 1852, at the time
of the reëstablishment of the Jesuits. The conciliar seminaries
were given into charge of the Fathers of St. Vincent de Paul on
their establishment in the islands. The Franciscans were allowed
to maintain a college in Spain for the training of missionaries for
the Philippines.
The history of the development of the people during this period has
been greatly neglected. There was a decided advance educationally
and politically, as well as a growing discontent, that were due to
a complexity of factors, among which were the easier communication
with Spain, the greater number of Spaniards in the islands, and the
spread of books and papers through the capital and provinces. On
the side of the government there were expeditions into the north
country against the Igorots and other tribes. In the south there were
almost continual campaigns against the Moros, over whom some important
victories were obtained. The usual decrees ordering good treatment of
the natives were issued, with as little effect as of old. The liberal
policy that the government was inclined to adopt toward the natives
is evidenced by the efforts made to secure educational laws, and by
the regulations of 1863. By an order of October 31, 1844, a casino
was opened for the natives in Manila. Another order prohibited the
smoking of opium by Chinese and natives. Discontent in the native
body is seen in the revolts of native soldiers and police. It was
forbidden to carry arms without a license. The lottery established
in 1850 had a bad influence. The vaccination board established at
Manila and the leper hospital established in 1850 at Cebú, were on
the other hand good measures, but were not welcomed so heartily as the
lottery. The surreptitious introduction and circulation of books and
plays caused the government in 1854 to attempt to regulate the book
trade. Government pawnshops were opened in 1860 in Manila. Pensions
were granted to the parents of those natives who were killed in the
service of the country. The earthquake of 1863 proved especially
disastrous, and the cholera epidemic of the same year, while not
so severe as that of 1820, decimated the people considerably. The
Moret decrees (see VOL. XLV, pp. 163-165) were distinctly in favor
of the natives, but were never carried out. The discontent ever
grew more pronounced, and at last broke out actively in the Cavite
rebellion, which was instigated and promoted by the secular clergy
and others. There has been no attempt to do more than point out
general tendencies during this period, and to note some of the most
important matters. For a good working bibliography, which will be
found to cover this period see Mr. LeRoy's article The Philippines,
1860-1898--Some comment and bibliographical notes, which immediately
precedes the present document.
CONSTITUTION OF THE LIGA FILIPINA
Ends:
1. To unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous,
and homogeneous body.
2. Mutual protection in every want and necessity.
3. Defense against all violence and injustice.
4. Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce.
5. Study and application of reforms.
Motto: Unus instar omnium [i.e., one like all.]
Countersign: ...
Form:
1. To set these ends in operation, a Popular Council, a Provincial
Council, and a Supreme Council shall be created.
2. Each Council shall consist of a Chief, a Fiscal, a Treasurer,
a Secretary, and members.
3. The Supreme Council shall consist of the Provincial Chiefs, just
as the Provincial Council shall be composed of the Popular Chiefs.
4. The Supreme Council shall have command of the Liga Filipina,
and shall deal directly with the Provincial Chiefs and Popular Chiefs.
5. The Provincial Council shall have command of the Popular Chiefs.
6. The Popular Council only shall have command of the members.
7. Each Provincial Council and Popular Council shall adopt a name
different from that of their locality or region.
Duties of the Members:
1. They shall pay monthly dues of ten centimos.
2. They shall obey blindly and promptly every order emanating from
a Council or a Chief.
3. They shall inform the Fiscal of their Council of whatever they
note or hear that has reference to the Liga Filipina.
4. They shall preserve the most absolute secrecy in regard to the
decisions of the Council.
5. In all walks of life, preference shall be given to the
members. Nothing shall be bought except in the shop of a member,
or whenever anything is sold to a member, he shall have a
rebate. Circumstances being equal, the member shall always be
favored. Every infraction of this article shall be severely punished.
6. The member who does not help another member in the case of need
or danger, although able to do so, shall be punished, and at least
the same penalty suffered by the other shall be imposed on him.
7. Each member, on affiliation, shall adopt a new name of his own
choice, and shall not be able to change the same unless he become a
Provincial Chief.
8. He shall bring to each Council a service [trabajo; evidently a
service done for the organization], an observation, a study, or a
new candidate.
9. He shall not submit to any humiliation or treat anyone with
contempt.
Duties of the Chief:
1. He shall continually watch over the life of his Council. He
shall memorize the new and real names of all the Councils if he
is the Supreme Chief, and if only a Popular Chief those of all his
affiliated members.
2. He shall constantly study means to unite his subordinates and
place them in quick communication.
3. He shall study and remedy the necessities of the Liga Filipina,
of the Provincial Council, or of the Popular Council, according as
he is Supreme Chief, Provincial Chief, or Popular Chief.
4. He shall heed all the observations, communications, and petitions
which are made to him, and shall immediately communicate them to the
proper person.
5. In danger, he shall be the first, and he shall be the first to be
held responsible for whatever occurs within a Council.
6. He shall furnish an example by his subordination to his superior
chiefs, so that he may be obeyed in his turn.
7. He shall see to the very last member, the personification of the
entire Liga Filipina.
8. The omissions of the authorities shall be punished with greater
severity than those of the simple members.
Duties of the Fiscal:
1. The Fiscal shall see to it that all comply with their duty.
2. He shall accuse in the presence of the Council every infraction
or failure to perform his duty in any member of the Council.
3. He shall inform the Council of every danger or persecution.
4. He shall investigate the condition of the funds of the Council.
Duties of the Treasurer:
1. He shall enter in a ledger the new names of the members forming
the Council.
2. He shall render strict monthly account of the dues received,
noted by the members themselves, with their special countermarks.
3. He shall give a receipt and shall have a note of it made in the
ledger in the hand of the donor, for every gift in excess of one peso
and not over fifty.
4. The Popular Treasurer shall keep in the treasury of the Popular
Council, the third part of the dues collected, for the necessities of
the same. The remainder, whenever it exceeds the sum of ten pesos,
shall be delivered to the Provincial Treasurer, to whom he shall
show his ledger, and himself writing in the ledger of the Provincial
Treasurer the amount delivered. The Provincial Treasurer shall then
give a receipt, and if it is in accordance with the accounts, shall
place his O. K. in the ledger of the other. Like proceedings shall
follow when the Provincial Treasurer delivers funds in excess of ten
pesos to the Supreme Treasurer.
5. The Provincial Treasurer shall retain from the sums handed to
him by the Popular Treasurer one-tenth part for the expenses of the
Provincial Council.
6. Whenever any member desires to give the Liga Filipina a sum in
excess of fifty pesos, he shall deposit the sum in a safe bank, under
his vulgar name and then shall deliver the receipt to the Treasurer
of his choice.
Duties of the Secretary:
1. At each meeting he shall keep a record of proceedings, and shall
announce what is to be done.
2. He shall have charge of the correspondence of the Council. In case
of absence or incapacity, every authority shall name a substitute,
until the Council name one to fill his place.
Rights of the members:
1. Every member has a right to the moral, material, and pecuniary
aid of his Council and of the Liga Filipina.
2. He may demand that all the members favor him in his trade or
profession whenever he offers as many guaranties as others. For this
protection, he shall transmit to his Popular Chief his real name
and his footing, so that the latter may hand it to the Supreme Chief
who shall inform all the members of the Liga Filipina of it by the
proper means.
3. In any want, injury, or injustice, the member may invoke the whole
aid of the Liga Filipina.
4. He may request capital for an enterprise whenever there are funds
in the treasury.
5. He may demand a rebate of all the institutions or members sustained
directly by the Liga Filipina, for all articles [sold him] or services
rendered him.
6. No member shall be judged without first being allowed his defense.
Rights of the Secretary [sic; Chief?]
1. He shall not be discussed unless an accusation of the Fiscal
precede.
2. For want of time and opportunity, he may act by and with himself, as
he has the obligation to perform the charges which may be laid on him.
3. Within the Council he shall be the judge of every question or
dispute.
4. He shall be the only one who shall be empowered to know the real
names of his members or subordinates.
5. He shall have ample power to organize the details of the meetings,
communications, and undertakings, for their efficacity, security,
and rapid despatch.
6. Whenever a Popular Council is sufficiently numerous, the Provincial
Chief may create other subordinate Councils after first appointing
the authorities. Once constituted, he shall allow them to elect their
authorities according to the regulations.
7. Every Chief shall be empowered to establish a Council in a village
where none exists, after which he shall inform the Supreme Council
or Provincial Council.
8. The Chief shall appoint the Secretary.
Rights of the Fiscal:
1. He shall cause every accused person to go out or appear while his
case is being discussed in the Council.
2. He shall be able to examine the ledgers at any time.
Rights of the Treasurer:
He shall dispose of the funds in an urgent and imperious necessity of
any member or of the Council, with the obligation of giving account
and answering before the tribunal of the Liga Filipina.
Rights of the Secretary:
He may convoke extra meetings or assemblies in addition to the
monthly meetings.
Investment of the funds:
1. The member or his son, who while not having means, shall show
application and great capacities shall be sustained.
2. The poor shall be supported in his right against any powerful
person.
3. The member who shall have suffered loss shall be aided.
4. Capital shall be loaned to the member who shall need it for an
industry or for agriculture.
5. The introduction of machines and industries, new or necessary in
the country, shall be favored.
6. Shops, stores, and establishments shall be opened, where the
members may be accommodated more economically than elsewhere.
The Supreme Chief shall have power to dispose of the funds in needy
cases, whenever he later renders an account to the Supreme Council.
General Rules:
1. No one shall be admitted without a previous and unanimous vote
of the Council of his village, and without satisfying the tests to
which he must submit.
2. Offices shall end every two years, except when there is an
accusation by the Fiscal.
3. In order to obtain the posts, three-fourths of all the votes
present shall be required.
4. The members shall elect the Popular Chief, the Popular Fiscal,
and the Popular Treasurer. The Popular authorities shall elect the
Provincial authorities; and the Provincial authorities shall elect
the Supreme authorities.
5. Every time that a member becomes the Popular Chief, that fact
shall be communicated to the Supreme Chief, together with his new and
old names; and the same shall be done whenever a new Council shall
be founded.
6. Communications in ordinary times, shall bear only the symbolical
names both of the writer and of the persons for whom they are intended,
and the course to be pursued shall be from the member to the Popular
Chief, from the latter to the Provincial Chief or the Supreme Chief,
and vice versa. In extraordinary cases alone shall these formalities
be omitted. However, in any time or place, the Supreme Chief may
address anyone directly.
7. It is not necessary for all the members of a Council to be present
to render decisions valid. It shall be sufficient if one-half the
members are present and one of the authorities.
8. In critical moments, each Council shall be considered as the
safeguard of the Liga Filipina, and if for any cause or other the
other Councils are dissolved or disappear, each Council, each Chief,
each member, shall take upon himself the mission of reorganizing and
reëstablishing them. [178]
THE FRIAR MEMORIAL OF 1898
His Excellency, the Minister of the colonies:
We, the superiors of the corporations of the Augustinians, Franciscans,
Recollects, Dominicans, and Jesuits, established in Filipinas,
in fulfilment of the statement of the telegram presented to his
Excellency, the governor-general and viceroyal patron, [179] on
the first instant, to be transmitted officially to your Excellency,
and which has been done by the said superior authority, as he has
condescended to inform us, have the honor of presenting this exposition
to his Majesty, King Don Alfonso XIII (whom may God preserve), and in
his royal name, to her Majesty, the queen regent, Doña María Cristina,
to the president and members [vocales] of the Council of Ministers
of the Crown [Ministros de la Corona], [180] and most especially to
your Excellency, as minister of the colonies. We send it directly to
your Excellency, in accordance with law and custom, so that, in due
time, you may condescend to lay it before the lofty personages above
mentioned, and even, if you deem it advisable, before the entire
nation, duly assembled in the Cortes of the kingdom.
In writing this exposition, to us, the religious of the corporations
existing in the country from ancient times, united in one soul and
one heart, as faithful brethren, is reserved the honor in the very
beginning of fulfilling respectfully the most acceptable duty of
reiterating our traditional adhesion to the king, to his government,
and to all the authorities of the fatherland, to whom we have always
considered it an honor to keep ourselves subject and obedient, by
the law of conscience, which is the strongest human bond, endeavoring
continually and in all earthly things, from our respective sphere of
action, to coöperate with every class of endeavor for the maintenance
of public order in Filipinas, for its legitimate and holy progress,
for the development of its intellectual and even material interests;
and, in a very special manner, for the propagation and conservation
of the divine teachings of Catholicism, for the encouragement of
good morals, and for the security of the moral prestige, the only
force which has been until now the great bond of union between these
beautiful lands and their dear mother the mother-country [metrópoli].
Motive for this exposition. Truly, your Excellency, if extremely
troublesome circumstances, by which Spanish authority in the
archipelago is threatened, and the bitter campaign (or better,
conspiracy) of defamation and anti-monastic schemes, incited against
us, especially since the outbreak of the insurrection, did not compel
us to talk, very willingly would we leave it to politicians to occupy
themselves with the problems that concern this country, and we would
maintain the silence that has fittingly been our norm of procedure
for many years, not speaking except when questioned officially, being
jealous, by that manner of retirement, of avoiding the criticism which
has so often been heaped upon us with audacious flippancy or malice,
that we meddle with the temporal government of these islands.
But now the hour is come, when, as loyal patriots and constant
supporters of Spanish authority in Filipinas, we must break that
silence, in order that one may never with reason repeat of us, either
as religious or as subjects of España, that terrible accusation of the
prophet, canes muti non valentes latrare. [181] The hour is come, also,
when we must emerge in defense of our honor, atrociously blemished in
many ways, of our prestige that has been trampled upon, of our holy
and patriotic ministry, which has, finally, been subjected to the most
terrible calumnies and the most unqualified accusations. Though private
persons may at any time make a noble renunciation of their good name
that has been defamed, offering to God the sacrifice of what civilized
man esteems highest, never is that allowed in any form, according to
the teachings of the holy doctors of the Church, to public persons,
to prelates, to superiors, to corporations, who must defend and
preserve their prestige, their credit, and their reputation, in order
to worthily fulfil their respective functions. A religious corporation
discredited and publicly reviled, is in its class like a nation whose
flag is insulted or whose laws are disavowed. It should die struggling
for its honor, rather than allow its good name to be trodden under
foot, and its rights to become unrecognized and unrevered.
Abandonment of the religious corporations and their patience and
prudence under these circumstances. Truly, one cannot qualify us
as hasty and imprudent, in that we now address ourselves to the
exalted authorities of the fatherland. We have borne patiently the
continual insults and vilifications for more than eighteen months
of masons and filibusters, open or hidden, in newspapers, clubs,
and public assemblies, who have attributed to us the blame for the
insurrection, and heaped dishonor on our persons and ministries by
the most unjustifiable attacks, cast in their majority in the mold
of demagogism and free thought. With Christian meekness have we
endured the return to the Peninsula of a multitude of persons who
have resided a greater or less period in the islands, who have shown
so little honor to our habit and profession; but if, instead of being
religious, we had been seculars, and if, instead of being a question
of ecclesiastical corporations, it had been one of civil or military
corporations, they would have refrained from speaking ill of us--and
we can be quite sure of that, and there are eloquent daily proofs
of this assertion--for the effective means that such corporations
generally practice would have tied their tongues, and would have
made them recognize their flippancy and their injustice by imposing a
vigorous corrective to their extensions. We religious have no sword;
we cannot pronounce judgment; we do not glitter with gilt braid; we
do not belong to a corporation, whose individual members take part
in the government of the fatherland, or in exalted considerations
of the same; we are neither military men nor functionaries of the
judicial or administrative profession; we do not have weight in any
political party; we do not intervene in elections; we do not form
(for conscience forbids us) great federations that become feared;
we do not incite the public, except to obedience and submission
to all constituted authority; we are unable in determined cases to
distribute appointments, or offer promotions or remunerations; we
are not accompanied by a fattened retinue of friends or flatterers,
who defend us for their own personal advantage, and who are the blind
paladins of the general, of the politician, of the exalted dignitary,
of the opulent banker; neither have we any influence over the press;
we do not possess a nucleus of attached partisans to shout for us and
overexcite so-called public opinion: in one word, we are without all
the methods that are used in modern public life to gain respect and
fear, to influence the nation, and cause all the shots of slander or
ignorance to strike ineffectually against us.
The religious of Filipinas, far remote from Europa, alone in their
ministries, scattered even throughout the farthest recesses of the
archipelago, without other associates and other witnesses of their
labors than their dear and simple parishioners, have no defense other
than their reason and right, which, although established on justice
and law, and secured by the protection of the divine Providence--which
mercifully has not failed us hitherto and which we hope will not
fail us in the future--do not have, nevertheless, in their favor
(nor ever, although we might have done so, would we avail ourselves
of them) those most powerful modern auxiliaries which are attaining
so much vogue and so great success in societies in which the great
Christian sentiments having grown cold, reason is not heard easily
unless supplied with the force of cannon or with the armor-plate of the
high bench, of vast political parties, or of fearful popular movements.
Alone with our reason and our right, although with our conscience
satisfied at always having fulfilled, yea always, our duties, of having
been as patriotic as the greatest, or more so, and of having fulfilled
the obligations of our sacred ministry, we have endured silently and
in all patience, in accordance with the advice of the apostle, the
insults and vilifications, even of persons to whom we have offered
in Christian sincerity our affection and civilities, even by persons
who call themselves very Catholic, but who, perchance, infected with
the contagion of the practical Jansenism of certain present-day
reformers, forget the remark of that great Christian emperor, who
said that if he should see a priest who had fallen into any frailty,
he would cover him with his cloak, rather than publish his weakness.
Alone, with our reason and our right, and confident that reason would
at last clear the pathway, and that light would at last illumine the
dense obscurity created by hatred of sect, by the separatist spirit,
and by flippancy, envy, and the false zeal of certain persons, we
have endured the insinuations, made in the Cortes [parlamento] [182]
of last year which showed scant respect to the orders; the assertions
made, not only in private, but also in centers of great publicity,
and by persons of considerable popularity in military circles
[politica militante], that the religious prestige of Filipinas was
so broken that it was necessary to substitute it with armed force;
the publishing of the recourse of an eminent politician, sacrificed
by anarchy, to the orders for information and advice in Philippine
matters, as a dishonorable censure; the grave accusations directed
against us, as well as against a most worthy prelate, in a memorial
presented to the senate, although veiled under certain appearances
of impartiality and gentle correction; the different-toned clamoring
from day to day, with more or less crudity, in order that the historic
peninsular period of 1834-40 might be reproduced in the islands, and
in order that measures might be adopted against us, so radical that
they are not taken (and the discussion of them is shameful) either
against the centers of public immorality, or against societies and
attempts that have no other end than to discatholicize the nation
and to sow in it the germs of thorough social upheaval.
Why the religious have been silent until now. We believed and thought
that our prudence and long silence, adorned with the qualities of
circumspection and magnanimity which religious institutions should
always possess, ought to be sufficient for discreet and fair-minded
people, so that they would immediately impugn those accusations and
form a judgment by which those repeated attacks would not make a
dent in our credit and prestige. We supposed that that campaign of
diatribes and reproaches would vanish at last as a summer cloud formed
by the effluvia cast off from the forges of masonry and filibusterism.
But instead of being dissipated the storm appears to be increasing
daily. The treaty of Biac-na-bató [183] has again placed in the
mouth of many the crafty assertion, made now by the rebel leaders
that the institutes of the regulars have been the only cause of the
insurrection. The secret society [184] of the Katipunan, which is
extending itself throughout the islands like a terrible plague, has
established by order of its Gran Oriente, [185] the extinction of
the religious as one of the first articles of their program of race
hatred. In the Peninsula and here, the masons, and all those who,
in one way or another, second them, have rejuvenated [recrudecido]
their war against us. Manifestos have been published in Madrid, in
which misusing the names of Filipinas, measures highly disrespectful
and vexatious to the clergy are demanded. Even in the ministry of the
colonies, although officiously, persons have managed to introduce
themselves, who, pursued by the tribunals of justice as unfaithful
do not hide their animadversion to the religious corporations. Now,
if we were to continue silent in view of all these circumstances,
our silence would be taken with reason as cowardice, or as an argument
of guilt; our patience would be qualified as weakness; and even firm
and sensible Catholics who recognize the injustice of the attacks
directed upon us, could with reason infer that we were stained, or
that we had come to such a prostrate condition that one could with
impunity insult and mock us, as if in downright truth we were old
and decayed entities whose decadence is the last symptom of death.
Prius mori, quam foedari, [186] said the ancients; and the most
loyal Maccabæans, "It is better to die in the battle than to
see the extermination of our nation and of the sanctuary." [187]
As long as the corporations exist, they will glory, as they ought,
in repeating with St. Paul: "Quamdiu sum Apostolus, ministerium meum
honorificabo." [188] We have always endeavored to honor our ministry,
and we shall always continue to honor it, now and in the future,
by the grace of God, which we trust will not fail us. Consequently,
we do not vacillate in addressing ourselves today to the exalted
authorities of the nation, taking shelter in our confidence, that,
though we are poor and helpless, and have no other protection than
our spotless history, our immaculate honor, and our secure rights, we
are talking to those in whom intelligence and good sense are brothers
to nobility of thought, who are always ready to listen, especially
to the poor and weak, and in whom their respect and love to Catholic
institutions and to the so eminently glorious and meritorious title
"Regular Clergy of Filipinas," shelter them from the suggestions of
sects and the prejudice of anticlerical and separatist parties.
They are persecuted because of their religious significance. What
reason have the religious corporations of Filipinas given that they
should be persecuted with so great passion? Ah! your Excellency, that
reason is no other than because they are very Catholic, because they
are very Spanish, because they are effective supporters of the good
and sane doctrine, and because they have never shown weakness toward
the enemies of God and of the fatherland. [189] If we religious had
not defended here with inviolable firmness the secular work which our
fathers bequeathed us: if we had shrunk our shoulders in fear before
the work of the lodges and before the propagation of politico-religious
errors that have come to us from Europa; if we had given the most
insignificant sign, not only if not of sympathy, yet even the least
sign of mute passivity, to the advocates of the false modern liberties
condemned by the Church; if the flame of patriotism had become lessened
to us; and innovators had not met in each religious in Filipinas an
unchangeable and terrible adversary to their plans, open or hidden:
never, your Excellency, would we religious corporations have been
the object of the cruel persecution now practiced on us; but on
the contrary, we regulars would have been exalted to the clouds,
and so much the more as our enemies are not unaware that, granting
the influence that we enjoy in the archipelago, our support, even if
passive and one of mere silence, would indisputably have given them
the victory.
But they know that our banner is none other than the Syllabus of
the great pontiff, Pius IX, [190] which has been so often confirmed
by Leo XIII, in which all rebellion against legitimate authorities
is so vigorously condemned. They know that, as lovers of the only
true liberty--Christian liberty--we would rather die than consent,
in whatever pertains to us, to the least lack of the purity of the
infallible Catholic teachings, of the holiness of Christian customs,
and of the most complete loyalty due the Spanish nation. Consequently,
they hate us; consequently, veiled under divers names and with
divers pretexts, they are making so cruel war upon us, that one
would believe that the masons and filibusters have no other enemies
in Filipinas than the religious corporations. In such wise does that
honor us that we can very well say with the prince of the apostles:
"If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed:
for that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that
which is his spirit resteth upon you (1 Peter iv, 14)." [191]
And for their patriotic significance. Apart from their essentially
religious character, the regulars of the archipelago have another
significance that makes them odious to the separatists. They are the
only permanent and deeply-rooted Spanish institution in the islands,
with a suitable and rigorous organization, perfectly adapted to these
regions. While the other Peninsulars live here in the fulfilment
of their duty more or less time, as is convenient to their private
interests, and with no other bond that follows them to Filipinas
than their own convenience, being ignorant of the language of the
country and having no other relations with the natives than those of
a superficial intercourse, we religious come here to sacrifice our
whole life. We form as it were a net of soldiers of religion and of the
fatherland in the archipelago, scattered even to the remotest villages
of the islands. Here we have our history, our glories, the ancestral
house, so to speak, of our family. Bidding an eternal farewell to our
native soil, we condemn ourselves voluntarily, by virtue of our vows,
to live forever consecrated to the moral, religious, and political
education of these natives, for whose defense we have in all ages
waged campaigns, which, without the pious boastings [crudezas]
and exaggerations of Las Casas, [192] have constantly reproduced in
Filipinas the figure of the immortal defender of the American natives.
Craftiness of the insurgent leaders of filibusterism. In this point
it must be confessed that the insurgent leaders of filibusterism
are logical. "Do the regulars," they have asked themselves, "who
are the Spaniards most deeply-rooted and most influential in the
country, and the most beloved and respected by the people, agree
to, or will they ever agree to our projects? Then let us petition
their expulsion, and their disappearance in one way or another. If
we do not succeed in it, let us destroy them. Since there are many
peninsulars, who, influenced by modern errors or carried away by
ignorance or evil passion, lend ear to those who inveigh against
the religious, let us inveigh loudly. Let us form a powerful cry
against them. Let us conspire in lodges and political clubs. Let us
petition at any risk measures looking to the lowering and destruction
of the regular clergy. Those peninsulars will listen to us without
us having any fear that they will hold us as filibusters. It will be
said of us that we are liberals, that we are reformers, that we are
democrats, that we are even masons and free-thinkers: but that does not
matter. Many peninsulars are the same. They also inveigh against the
religious. They also petition freedom of thought, freedom of the press,
freedom of association, secularization of education, ecclesiastical
disamortization, suppression of the privileges of the clergy. They
also inveigh against the terrible theocracy, and do not cease to
defame the religious and to impute to them all sorts of crimes."
That, your Excellency, is the watchword that has been given to
all the filibusters, and to all who will procure the emancipation
of the country in one way or another, for their separatist ends,
and especially since the treaty of Biac-na-bató. "There is nothing
against España, nothing against the king, nothing against the army,
nothing against the Spanish administration: say if you have seized
arms that it has been exclusively because of the abuses of the clergy,
that you were not attempting separation from the mother-country;
that you wished only modern liberties and the disappearance of the
orders. And even though all the documents, judicial and extrajudicial,
in which appear the plans of the conspirators, and all the acts of
the canton of Cavite, during its ephemeral emancipation, demonstrates
the contrary, let us exert ourselves to say that that was not the
intention of the rebels, that that was an affair of some enthusiasts
or madmen, but that the great mass of the insurgents seized arms only
through coveting those liberties. The multitude of lay Spaniards of
every class and profession sacrificed; the countless natives killed or
harassed in innumerable ways, because of their unswerving loyalty to
the fatherland; the cries of 'Death to the Castilas!' and 'Long live
the Tagálogs!' the stamps of a Tagálog republic, a Filipino republic,
[193] an army of freedom; the speeches and circulars of the assembly
or supreme council; the fiery Katipunan constitution written in
characters of a mysterious key, and that written at Biac-na-bató;
and in their style, an infinite number of deeds and documents, many
of them very recent, which even to satiety evidently demonstrate the
anti-Spanish and separatist character of the insurrection: all that
we shall now conceal by crying 'Down with the friars!' 'Long live
democratic liberties!' 'Long live España!' and with those cries are
we certain of being heard, and in that way shall we be able to more
easily attain the final goal of our desires."
That is the logic and the tactics of the filibusters, and it must be
confessed that in it they show themselves to possess practical talent,
and to be thoroughly acquainted with the society that surrounds
them. Had they said that the insurrection had been provoked by the
excesses of the government employes, of the military, of the governors,
of the directors of the treasury; had they placed in relief the
multitude of abuses that have been committed against the native in
one form or another (although never by the nation, or by the majority
of its sons); had they attributed the armed insurrection to that:
they would now be opposed by all the peninsular element, and their
voice would have had not the slightest echo, as it would have been
stifled by the more powerful voice of others who would have cried
out in defense of the Spanish name, and who would have locked on them
the door to all the means of propaganda and agitation which they are
now exploiting. But when they declaimed against the clergy, when they
demanded the liberties that the clergy cannot in conscience approve,
they had at least assured their campaign, and in part, perhaps,
the success of the same.
Their real purposes. Does not this show, your Excellency, that,
in talking of the supposed or enormously exaggerated abuses of the
clergy, they are not moved by love of justice and morality, and much
less by love for España? What then, do they not recognize that for one
religious who has committed abuses, it is to be surmised, from their
employment, that there have been many more laymen in proportion (and
let it be clear that we accuse no one, and least of all the worthy
official corporations) who have converted their office, totally or
partially, into a means for illegal advancement? Have the insurgents
not cried out at other times, and during the preparatory period of
the insurrection, against the meritorious civil guard, against judges
and alcaldes, against the army, against the peninsular resident in
the island, against the administration in general, and even against
the superior authorities of the archipelago? Is not this proved
by the books of the unfortunate Rizal, by the Solidaridad, [194]
and other documents and pamphlets of the laborers, although one must
not forget that their favorite watchword was always to cruelly attack
the religious? Undoubtedly so, but it was not now advisable for them
to declare it. Now was come the opportunity to show themselves very
Spanish, very loyal to the king (they who were affiliating themselves
to the extent of their ability with the most radical parties), very
fond of the army, and to attack only the religious!
Accusations against the orders. They work deceitfully, we shall say
with the Psalmist (Psalm 35), [195] they talk of peace and of love
outwardly, but evil and hate are hid in their hearts; supervacue
exprobaverunt animam meam. Most vainly do they wrong us, we shall add,
in respect to the accusations that they direct against us. "Unjust
witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not. They repaid me
evil for good: and have sworn my destruction. But thou, O Lord, wilt
destroy their plans, and wilt save my existence." (Psalm 35.) [196]
Yea, your Excellency, unjust witnesses, for where are those abuses,
those excesses, those vices, those outrages, of which their mouths
are so full, and which furnish them matter for their speeches of a
demagogical club of the rabble? What do the religious corporations
maintain, when viewed with a deep synthetical standard, which is
not in accordance with the canons of the Church and the rules of
their institute; which is not fitting to the holy ministry that they
profess; which is not greatly beneficial to the supreme interests
of the fatherland? We turn our eyes in all directions, and however
quick-sighted may be our eyes, unless one views the orders through
the pharisaical or separatist prism, they discover nothing that does
not merit the heartiest applause. "Laudet te alienus," says the sacred
book of Proverbs, "et non os tuum." [197] But it is not our intention
to praise ourselves here. It is our intention to vindicate ourselves;
to defend our honor unjustly impeached; to demonstrate our eminently
Spanish mission; and to maintain our good name, which is our treasure,
which is the great title of nobility that we can never abdicate
nor allow to be vilified. "By your good works stop the mouth of the
ignorance of foolish and senseless men," says St. Peter to us. (1
Peter ii, 15.) [198]
"We walk not in craftiness, nor by adulterating the word of God;
but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's
conscience, in the sight of God; that is our glory, the testimony of
our conscience," is also taught us by St. Paul. (2 Cor. iv, 2.) [199]
From our dishonor follows the dishonor of the holy and Spanish mission
that we exercise; and God has told us that we should be the salt of
the earth and the light of the world, and that we should shine in
such manner that men may see our good works, and glorify our father
who is in heaven. [200]
How they have fulfilled their duties. Our good works are in the gaze
of all men, and our good works, thanks to God, are the brightest
gem of the corporations. Not only do we preach the gospel here; not
only do we carry the Christian and civilized life to the barbarous
and fetish-encumbered inhabitants of these islands; not only did we
obtain the incorporation of the archipelago into the Spanish crown,
working in harmony with the other official entities, and preserved it,
as is well known, in a peaceful and happy condition for the space
of three centuries; but also, in all time, even now when we are
wronged so deeply by some ingrate Filipinos, whom we pity, have we
been the constant defenders of the Indians, enduring for that reason
innumerable loathings, and all kinds of persecution on the part of
many peninsulars, who did not understand the devotion and patriotism
of our conduct. In all time have we been zealous for the purity
of the faith and for the conservation of good morals; and illegal
exactions, bribery, extortions, outrages, ease, immoral gambling,
and a licentious or little restrained life, have always had in us a
severe judge and the most inexorable censor.
Can it be said of the religious institutes, whether collectively
or in the vast majority of their individual members, that they have
prevaricated; that they have ever abandoned the duties entrusted to
them in the administration of the sacraments, in the celebration
of divine worship, in Christian preaching and catechising, in the
vigilance of good manners, in the tutelage of moral interests, in
protection and relief to the needy and weak, in advice and consolation
to all about us, in the maintenance of obedience to the mother-country,
in the extension of education, in the campaign against every kind of
superstition and erroneous practice, in repression of concubinage, and
of other public irregularities and scandals? Does not the tenet enter
the head of the most exalted sectarian, if he has any lucid moment,
that we religious have fulfilled with assiduous self-abnegation the
obligations of our ministry?
We have become wearied with reading, your Excellency, whatever has
been written and published against us for years, and we know also how
much is said now in assemblies and gatherings. With our hand upon our
heart, with our foreheads raised aloft, as one who walks in the light
and fears not to have his deeds examined and discussed in the light,
we challenge and defy our detractors and calumniators, and those
who flippantly, or by any other unjust and inaccurate motive, talk
and murmur, to show us with exact data and with perfectly authentic
information, not only the accuracy of all their accusations, but
the mere probability of whatever they allege against our honor and
well-established credit, touching the fulfilment of our duties,
both religious and patriotic.
Their procedure in respect to parochial obventions, to education,
and intercourse with intelligent persons. It is said that we commit
abuse in the exaction of parochial fees. Let the laws of the Church be
consulted, let the doctrines of the moralists and the principles of
positive natural and divine law be cited; and then submitted to that
only sure rule as a criterion, let them tell us whether we abuse the
public in that matter, and whether our procedure, within just bounds,
is not that employed by the most disinterested priests.
It is said that we are hostile to education and the advancement
of knowledge. But if by education and knowledge, doctrines not
condemned by the Church, our Mother, are not meant, let them tell us
whether the islands have any education that has not been established,
protected, sustained, and encouraged by the clergy, in all branches
of instruction, both primary, and secondary and superior.
It is said that we despise the intelligent men of the country, and that
we make them the object of every kind of persecution. That assertion is
so rare and stupendous that we wonder whether our enemies will write in
imaginary spaces. A multitude of youths are graduated annually with the
degree of bachelor or after the conclusion of some higher course, from
the Ateneo Municipal, from the colleges of Manila and the provinces,
and from the university. We are honored by the friendship of the
vast majority of them, and take no little satisfaction in seeing
them prosper and in knowing that they respect the Christian and
solid education that they have received. It is known that very few
of the great number of students that attend our lecture halls, and
of the not few graduates that are scattered throughout the islands,
have taken part in the rebellion; and that the vast majority of them
have kept loyal to España, in fulfilment of the oath that they took
on receiving the investiture of their professions. But what happens
in the old world with the apprentices of free thought happens here:
all those modestly call themselves intelligent who think that they
exhibit signs of knowledge and talent by showing contempt for priests
and religious; while it is a fact that a goodly proportion of those
who express themselves in that manner have been unable to complete
their courses with us, and are the refuse of our lecture halls.
Regarding the sanctity of their private life. An outcry is being made
against the vices and immorality of the regulars in terms that seem to
be inspired in Protestant and anticlerical centers of low quality. But
in that, as in other things, saving what can never be avoided even in
the communities most sanely organized, by the severest legislation
and the most exquisite care, all who view us near at hand are not
ignorant that nothing can be thrown into our face.
The words of Father St. Augustine, when defending his institute against
accusations similar to those directed against the orders of Filipinas,
are very opportune and efficacious in this matter. "Tell me, brethren,
is my congregation, peradventure, better than Noah's ark, in which,
of the three sons Noah had, one was evil? Is it, peradventure, better
than the family of the patriarch Jacob, in which, of his twelve sons,
only Joseph is praised? Is it, peradventure, better than the house of
the patriarch Isaac, in which, of the two sons born to him, one was
chosen of God, and the other damned? Is it, peradventure, better than
the household of Jesus Christ, our Savior, in which, of His twelve
apostles, one was a traitor, and sold him? Is it, peradventure, better
than that company of the seven deacons filled with the Holy spirit,
chosen by the apostles to take charge of the poor and widowed, among
whom one, by name Nicholas, became a heresiarch? Is it, peradventure,
better than heaven itself, whence fell so many angels? Can it be
better than the earthly paradise, where the two first parents of all
the human race, created in original justice and grace, fell?"
Ah! the religious corporations of Filipinas, caring for the sanctity
and salvation of all its sons, on seeing one of their individual
members fail in his duties, after correcting him, and after taking,
in accordance with law and religious prudence, measures efficacious
to repair, if he did it, the scandal, and even, if necessary, to
destroy and fling aside the rotten branch, cry out in pity with the
apostle like a true mother: "Quis infirmatur et ego non infirmor? Quis
scandalizatur et ego non uror?" "Who becomes sick spiritually and I do
not suffer with him? Who suffers scandal and I am not burned?" That is
what all should say who learn of the backslidings of their neighbor;
that is the dictate of charity and of justice; that is demanded by
respect and consideration to the ministers of the church. And so long
as our systematic accusers do not prove that the orders consent and
do not check the sins, in great part humanly inevitable--considering
the conditions under which those dedicated to the ministry live--of
the very few religious who have the misfortune and weakness to fall,
they have no right to dishonor us and to cry out against what we are
the first to lament and to try to correct.
Will they prove it sometime? We are quite assured of the opposite;
and that though they have at hand, as many methods of inquisition
and proof as the judge most interested in any cause can desire. Our
convents, our ministries, our persons, are in sight of all. Our parish
priests and missionaries are alone and surrounded by a multitude of
natives. Whatever we say, do, or neglect to do, is seen and spied
by all the people. Our habitations are of crystal for all classes
of people. Our publicity as Europeans and our condition as priests
place us in such relief in the missions and parishes, that it would be
stupid simplicity to try to hide our doings and actions. Consequently,
everything is favorable to our adversaries in the trial to which we
provoke them, and to which each regular voluntarily submits himself,
from the moment that, faithful to his vocation and obedient to his
superiors, he sacrifices himself to live among these natives, his very
beloved sheep of the flock of Christ. Our honor, our reputation rests
in their hands. It would be easy for our adversaries to confound the
religious institutes if truth presided over their accusations. But
since truth is that which does not glitter in their words, the saying
of Holy Writ becomes verified in their conduct: "They spake against me
with a lying tongue, and with the speech of hate did they attack me;"
and in regard to us the saying of St. Peter: "You shall keep an upright
conscience with modesty and fear, so that as many as calumniate your
upright procedure in Christ, shall be confounded." [201]
Other equally unjust charges. We shall not compare our conduct
with that of the respectable and very estimable native priests of
the secular clergy, whom the majority of the separatist Filipinos
flatter, undoubtedly because it is not to the purpose of their plans
to combat them. We shall not rebut the shamelessness of supposing that
part of our property has a criminal origin, and that we are certain
despots in our rural estates who suck the blood of our tenants by
various methods, an infamy so often refuted with authentic data
of overwhelming proof. We shall not speak of the vast imposture of
imputing to us all the executions by shooting, imprisonments, tortures,
trials, and confiscation of property of those implicated in the last
insurrection. We scorn the absurd fable that we are absolute masters,
not only of consciences, but of all the archipelago, at the same time
that they, obviously contradicting themselves, as error is wont to do,
declare that our prestige and influence in the islands is lost. We
neglect to attribute to ourselves whatever hate and censure, according
to them, have been made in the country by the military [institutos
armados], the governors, the judges, and all the public organisms, in
deportations and other kinds of punishment; as if we religious managed
to our liking the machine of the government and administration of this
territory, and as if, from the governor-general down to the last agent
of the police, all were but the blind executors of our will. We lay
aside those and other things--poorly executed arguments--which certain
misguided sons of this country are still employing, and which are
unfortunately repeated by certain peninsulars, in order to manifest
their hatred or prejudice against the clergy; and pass on to speak
of the insurrection and of the imperious necessity of remedying the
extremely embarrassing situation of the religious corporations in
the archipelago.
Fundamental causes of the insurrection, and who are to blame for
it. The government is able only too well to recognize the causes that
have produced the insurrection, and we shall not be the ones who try
to give it lessons in that regard. The government is aware that until
several years ago, every separatist idea, every rebel tendency in the
country, which was enjoying the most enviable peace and felt respect to
authority with the same unreflecting, although patent and holy, force,
with which domestic authority in all parts is obeyed and respected,
was exotic and an anachronism. Then was submission to España and
subordination to all authority an element truly social, rendered
incarnate by the religious in the mass of the Filipino population,
which neither dreamed, yea, your Excellency, neither dreamed of ideas
of political redemption, nor imagined that, in order to keep themselves
loyal to the mother-country, one single bayonet was necessary in the
country. The public force of the cuadrilleros and of the guardia civil
[202] (the latter of very recent creation) was necessarily created to
check and restrain thieves and tulisanes; [203] while every one thought
that the wretched army then in the archipelago had no other object than
to combat Mindanaos and Joloans, and to be ready for any conflict with
the neighboring powers. España was able to be sure of its dominion
here, and to live so carelessly, with respect to political movements
as in the most retired village of the Peninsula. All authority was
obeyed, was respected, by conscience, by education, by tradition,
by social habit, passively and by custom, if one wishes, but with
so great strength and firmness, with so indisputable and universal
submission, that more indeed than individual virtue it was the virtue
of the mass of the whole population, it was the spontaneous homage
to God, which, represented in the powers of the fatherland, all felt
and practiced, not conceiving even the possibility of rebellions
and insurrections. Thus had they been taught by the religious, who
always unite the names of God and His Church with the names of their
king and of España. Consequently, by bonds of conscience, did all the
archipelago love and obey him, and no one thought then of political
liberties, nor in lifting yokes that existed for no one.
Are there then no abuses? No, your Excellency it could have very well
happened that there were abuses on a greater scale than in the epoch
immediately preceding the present events. But since these people
were educated in the doctrine that it is never legal to disobey
authority, under pretext of abuses, even if some are true; since
these people had not yet been imbued with the new modern teachings,
condemned a hundred times by the Church; since no one had spoken
here of popular rights, many of them as false as senseless; since
the propaganda against priests and religious had not yet reached
Filipinas: it resulted that, considering those abuses, as one of so
many plagues of humanity (from which regulated societies are not free,
according to the principles of the newest erroneous law, but rather
they are, on the contrary, suffered with greater intensity and with
greater loss to the fundamental interests of the social order) these
inhabitants tolerated them patiently, and had recourse for their
remedy to the just methods taught in such cases by Catholic ethics,
with the greatest advantage to individuals and to nations.
Consequently, as many as have contributed, in one way or another,
to introduce those revolutionary doctrines, and those germs of social
and political disturbance into the archipelago, whether peninsulars or
islanders, of whatever class or rank, are the true authors, conscious
or unconscious, of the great weakening of the traditional obedience
to the mother-country, of which the whole archipelago was in peaceful
possession until thirty years ago, that was disturbed by no one or by
no influence. The introducers of those doctrines and tendencies are
beyond all doubt the culprits of the insurrection, for they are the
ones who have done their utmost to prepare for it and with success to
unroll it, even supposing that they have not directly and deliberately
procured it.
Who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind; who introduces principles
must accept the consequences; who generates hate must not wonder that
war results; who teaches the pathway of evil cannot declare himself
free from responsibility for the disorders originated by his teaching.
Partial causes: masonry. Will it be necessary to explain this simple
consideration? We do not think so. But should we desire to unfold it,
it would be easy for us to add that the anti-religious propaganda;
the ideas of erroneous liberty and forbidden independence, incited
and aroused in certain Filipinos by European politicians and writers;
the antipathy and opposition, clearly shown by certain Spaniards, even
by those ruling and by government employees, against the religious
corporations; the establishment of masonry and of other secret
societies, the former's legitimate offspring; the most favorable
reception that the revolutionary Filipinos found for their plans
in many centers and papers of Madrid and other places; the lack of
religion in many peninsulars; the ease with which the ancient laws
of Filipinas have been changed; the mobility of public functionaries
which, giving opportunity for many irregularities, has contributed
greatly to the continual lessening of the credit of the Spanish name;
and in part, the backwardness, which has been observed sometimes in
the sons of the country with regard to public appointments: [all
these] are partial aspects, various phases and confluent factors
(of which we do not attempt to enumerate all) of the fundamental and
synthetical cause that we have expressed.
No one is unaware that the chief of all those partial phases and
factors of the social disorganization of the archipelago has been
masonry. The Asociación Hispano-Filipina of Madrid was masonic. Those
who encouraged the Filipinos in their campaign against the clergy
and against the peninsulars here resident, were masons in almost
their totality. Those who authorized the installation of lodges in
the archipelago were masons. Those who founded the Katipunan, [204]
a society so mortally masonic, that even in its terrible suggestive
pact of blood it has done naught but imitate the masonic carbonarios,
were masons.
Practical consequences of that. The traditional submission to the
fatherland, diffused and deeply settled in the archipelago by the
religious corporations, having disappeared in part and having been
greatly weakened in part; the voice of the parish priest, thanks to the
above-mentioned propaganda, having been disregarded by many natives,
especially in Manila and conterminous provinces, who were taught in
that way to give themselves airs as intelligent and independent men;
the prestige of the Spanish name having been greatly tempered, and the
ancient respect with which every peninsular was formerly regarded in
the islands having been almost annihilated in many towns: is it strange
that race instincts should have asserted themselves strongly, and,
considering that they have a distinct language, and distinct lands and
climate, that they should have discussed and have attempted to raise
a wall of separation between Spaniards and Malays? Is it not logical
that, after having been made to believe that the religious is not the
father and shepherd of their souls and their friend and enthusiastic
defender, but a vile exploiter, and that the peninsular here is no
more than a trader constituted with greater or less authority and
rank, that they should madly and illegally have imagined that they
could easily separate from España and aspire to self-government?
Gloomy situation of the archipelago and omens of its future. We
shall not insist, your Excellency, on this order of consideration,
for it rends our soul, it cleaves our heart in twain, to consider how
easily so many rivers of blood, so great and extravagant expenses,
and so extraordinary conflicts, might have been spared, which in a
not long lapse of time, may, perhaps, result in the disappearance
of the immortal flag of Castilla; how easily the military situation,
originated by the insurrection, a situation that was threatening to
make of Filipinas another Cuba, might have been avoided; and with how
little trouble the archipelago might have been continuing at present
in the same tranquillity and peacefully progressive situation as it
had years ago: if having the power, as was a fact, but that was not
attempted or thought of, the door had been shut on the disturbers; if
masonry had never been allowed in the country; and if every tendency
contrary to the moral prestige, the most powerful social bond,
immensely superior to all armies and all political institutions which
united these countries with their beloved and respected mother-country,
had been effectively restrained in their beginnings.
Has the present most gloomy situation any remedy?
It is somewhat difficult, and even dangerous, to answer the question,
for if the Katipunan was six months ago relegated to the hills of
Laguna and Bulacan among the rebel leaders who were fugitive there,
or was dragging out a shameful existence in certain villages that were
in communication with the insurgents, today the plague has spread. For
the ones pardoned at Biac-na-bató, breaking the promise given to
the gallant and energetic marquis de Estella, [205] obedient to the
watchword received, have spread through the central provinces; and by
using threats and terrible punishments, which have no precedents in the
pages of history, nor even of the novel, have succeeded in attracting
to their ranks a great number of Indians, even in villages which gave
eloquent proof of loyalty to the holy cause of the Spanish fatherland
before the submission of Biac-na-bató. They have also succeeded in
establishing themselves in Cápiz and in other points of the Visayas:
and indeed the movement of Zambales, of Pangasinan, of Ilocos, of Cebú,
and of the Katipunans, are at present open in Manila.
The thought of what may happen to this beautiful country at any
moment terrifies us, for we do not know to what point sectarian
fanaticism may go, exploiting the suggestibility of this race and
their weak brain by the deeds that they are heralding, brought to a
head by them, in regard to the army, whose increase in the proportion
that would be necessary to establish a complete military situation,
they know to be impossible; by the published exemption from the cédula
[206] and other tributes; by the supposed immunity of amulets, called
anting-anting; by the illusion that none but Indians will hold office,
and that the alcaldes and generals will be from their ranks; by the
remembrance that money and confidence were given to the rebels of
Cavité, Bulacan, and other points; by the news that their partisans
were sending them from Madrid and Hong-kong; by the example of goodly
numbers of peninsulars, who are not on their guard against showing
their hostility to the religious, in order by that manner to procure
the latter's disregard by their parishioners, who even dare to lay
hands on them; and by innumerable other methods, too many, in short,
to enumerate, but terribly destructive, and of maddening and vigorous
influence in these Malayan villages.
The thought of what consist the secrets of the revolution, which the
learned gentleman, appointed as arbitrator [207] by the so-called
government of the insurgents to arrange with the superior authority
of the islands as to the conditions of submission and the surrender of
arms, swore to keep secret, as appears from the justificative document
of his authorization, is also terrifying. We are ignorant of what those
secrets may be, which apparently are not the politico-ecclesiastical
reforms which are now demanded in Madrid, since those matters are
mentioned openly in the abovesaid document signed by Aguinaldo in
the name of the rebel assembly; and the most courageous heart is
terrified at the fancy that there might be an organization more
powerful, more far-reaching, more general and active of revolution,
somewhat like the Katipunan, which we now see to be rapidly spreading,
and which at a moment's notice, would effect a general rising, whose
most saddening results one can easily foresee, and avoid with the
greatest difficulty, unless every labor association be effectually
prosecuted and extirpated in time.
Remedy for that situation. Laying aside for the meanwhile those
dangers, which are daily obscuring the Filipino horizon more deeply,
and supposing, as we desire, that peace may be obtained throughout
the islands, the situation of the archipelago has a remedy, and
one, as is clear, that consists in removing all the causes that
have produced so deep a confusion and in prudently and with justice
adopting the measures that, assuring peace, will protect and encourage
the legitimate interests of these inhabitants. The great mass of the
country is not corrupted. It suffers from an access of hallucination
and fanaticism produced by sectarian preachings and practices, but
its heart and head are not perverted. If it be attended with care,
it will return to its former pacific habits and submission. The
wealthy and intelligent classes, still healthy, protest against all
those movements, and since they are loyal and friendly to us, desire
the normal mean to be reestablished as soon as possible, and will
contribute, together with the institutions of the mother-country,
to the most glorious undertaking of restoring order and the pacific
and progressive trend of the archipelago.
It pertains to the government to direct and manage those forces
in order to obtain so satisfactory an end, by reestablishing the
mainsprings of government, now so nearly disappeared or very much
weakened; by giving prestige to all the conservative elements;
and with an administration, grave, intelligent, active, stable,
moral, acquainted with, and fond of the country, and one dissociated
with every political doctrine, to continue and perfect the just
and benevolent, and Catholic and Spanish regimen: whereby the
mother-country would gain the sympathies of these inhabitants and
establish its dominion securely.
This is strange material for the peculiar objects and character
of this exposition, which has no other purpose than to defend the
honor of the religious institutes and demonstrate the necessity of
supporting and invigorating their ministry, if they are to continue
their noble and patriotic mission in the archipelago. We do not
intend to mix in politics, however much we may have as much or more
right than any society or individual to speak of these things. But
indeed we must be the defenders of the rights of the Church, and of
the regular clergy. We are indeed under obligations to watch over
Spanish interests, which are not at variance with, but perfectly
amalgamated with religious interests.
What the orders need and claim. As religious then, and as Spaniards,
we address the government, and without circumlocutions or subterfuge
(for these are not the times for paraphrases and euphemisms which
cloak the truth), we believe that we can tell the government that if
the interests of Spanish domination in the archipelago have incurred
and are incurring so serious danger of shipwreck, it is because they
have rather been, and are, profoundly combative of the interests of
religion; and that if the revolutionists have succeeded in making
themselves heard by a multitude of natives, it is because they have
been taught, before and during the ingrate rebellion, to despise and
even to persecute the religious who taught them a doctrine of peace
and obedience. He who does not see this, suffers great blindness,
or it is an obvious sign that he is infected with the terrible evil
that has brought so dire consequences to Filipinas. He who closes his
ears to the lessons of Providence--sorrowful, but indeed healthful
lessons--and believes that it is possible to restore order here and
establish a prosperous and tranquil progress without strengthening
religious influences, is not far from the separatist camp, or shows
that he is unable to learn from great social catastrophes.
It is not sufficient for that purpose to recognize the need of morality
and of religion. One must recognize them in all their integrity and
purity, such as our holy Mother, the Church, makes them known. It is
not sufficient to talk to the people of the great doctrines of the
Crucified, and instruct them not to attempt to attack the legitimate
interests of Catholicism--vagaries that so very often cover mischievous
and pharisaical intentions, in order afterward, under pretext of
abuses, to tell them by word and deed, not to listen to the priests
who preach those doctrines to them and inculcate in them respect
for those interests. If one would attempt to effectively establish
the peace of the archipelago upon a firm base, he must support in
toto and in solido the mission of the religious corporations, so that
they may be fruitful in the proportion that these inhabitants demand,
who are still affectionate to the faith and to civilization, and so
that the natives may be strengthened in the solid conviction that
they are obliged to obey and respect España, their true fatherland in
the social and civic order, by bonds of conscience and not by human
considerations which are always unstable and shifting.
Consequently, we regulars who have more than sufficient reasons to
recognize to their full extent the evils that affect the archipelago,
so beloved by us, and who have been for some time experiencing the fact
that, far from religious action being strengthened, it is restricted
and opposed in various ways, do not waver in telling the government
with blunt frankness that, if it do not consent to give that support,
daily more necessary, to the Church, the social disturbance of the
country will continue to increase daily, and that by not applying
any remedy to that evil, the stay here of the religious is becoming
morally impossible.
Of what use is it for us to force ourselves to fulfil our
religio-patriotic duties, if others take it upon themselves to destroy
that labor on the instant; if they, by methods that flatter evil
passions so greatly, gain the favor of the same people whom we have
taught to be docile and submissive, by saying to them continually that
they should pay no attention to us? Would it suffice, peradventure,
to preach respect to property, if, at the same time, there were no
laws that protected it and public force that effectively restrained
those covetous of another? Would any professor be assured of the
effects of his teaching, whose pupils were to be told by respectable
persons or through vexatious methods, as they left the lecture room,
to forget or despise the lessons of their masters? Then in like case
do we find ourselves in Filipinas.
We do not want, your Excellency, temporal honors or dignities, which
we have renounced by choosing for our profession a life hidden in
Jesus Christ. We do not belong to those who, in whatever they do,
think immediately, even when deserving them, of recompenses and
decorations. We do not desire, as our enemies believe (who judge us,
perhaps, from themselves), to preponderate in the civil government
and administration of the villages, nor even at least to continue our
slight official intervention assigned to us in certain secular matters
by law and tradition. If one desires to strip the parish priest or
the missionary of all administrative, gubernatorial, and economic
functions, in which, without us ever claiming it, yea, ever, the
secular authority has come to solicit our modest cooperation, let it
be done at a seasonable time. Those who adopt such an inclination will
see what is most advisable for the exalted interests of the fatherland;
but from them and not from us, who have ever (even enduring because
of that intervention, annoyances, censures, and persecutions, and
considering it a true burden) been docile auxiliaries of the civil
authority, will be demanded the responsibility of the consequences
that may be occasioned by so far-reaching a measure.
We have come to the islands to preach and to preserve the Christian
faith, and to instruct these natives with the celestial food of the
sacraments and the maxims of the gospel; to prove that the principal
intent of España, on incorporating this territory with its crown,
was to christianize and civilize the natives. We have not come to
become alcaldes, governors, judges, military men, agriculturists,
tradesmen, or merchants; although the concord and fast union that
should prevail between the Church and State be granted, and the fact
that we constitute here the only social Spanish institution, never
have we refused to contribute with our might as good patriots and
submissive vassals to whatever has been demanded of us, and which
we have been able to perform, without dishonor to our priestly and
religious character.
What they as Catholic institutions contradict. All who have written
upon Filipinas consider the benefit that the country, and very chiefly
the Spanish dominion, has obtained, from that system in which the
parish priest and the missionary were the intermediary, more or
less direct, between the public authorities and the mass of the
Filipino population. It does not belong to us to demonstrate that,
for well does the history of this archipelago show it, and it is
being told in eloquent, although tragic voices by the present fact,
with the deplorable consequences that España is feeling, and to which
it has been guided by a senseless and suicidal propaganda against
the religious orders. What we have to say at present is, that if the
civil authority be not most diligently attentive to the maintenance,
encouragement, and guaranty of religion and morality in the islands,
as it must be through its solemn promise contracted before the supreme
pontiffs and before Christian Europe, in accordance with the teachings
and precepts of our most holy Mother, the Church; if it do not oppose
a strong wall to the avalanche of insults, taunts, and systematic
opposition to the religious of Filipinas, which is coming down upon
the peninsula and the archipelago; if it do not prosecute the secret
societies with the firmness of a foreseeing government; if it do
not cause us to be respected and held as our quality as priests and
Spanish corporations demand, in public and in private, in all the
spheres of the social order, in whatever concerns España and its
agents, repelling every project that in one way or another attempts
to remove our prestige and to lessen our reputation, hindering the
fruit of our labors: there is no suitable and meritorious way--and we
say it with profoundest grief--in which we can continue in the islands.
We cannot be less, your Excellency, in our order, than military men,
to whom their profession is an honor and exaltation, as well as an
exaction; less than the class of administrative functionaries whose
rights and prerogatives are defended and guaranteed by the State; less
than the mercantile and industrial companies and undertakings, who are
considered and protected as impelling elements of public wealth; less
than legal, medicinal, and other professional--scientific, artistic,
or mechanical--associations, which are honored and respected in every
well-organized society. We believe, and this belief is not at all
exaggerated, that, as Catholic institutions, we have a right to all
the honors, exemptions, and privileges, that the Christian Church and
State, and the laws--in accordance with which the religious orders
were established in Filipinas--extend to ecclesiastical persons and
corporations, and especially to the regulars; and that as Spanish
institutions, we ought to have the same consideration as the other
entities that have arisen and exist under the protection of the flag
of the fatherland.
As Catholic institutions, we must, with all the energy of our soul,
repel, as contrary to the imprescriptible and supreme laws of the
true and the good, and to the original laws of the Church, freedom of
worship, and the other fatal and false liberties that are the offspring
of the thought, of the press, and of association, which certain men
are trying to bring to this archipelago, and which conflict with the
most rudimentary duties of the patronage that España exercises here,
as is clearly set forth in various places in the Recopilación de
Indias. In like manner do we repel, inasmuch as it contradicts the
rights of the Church, the pretended secularization of education, in
accordance with what we are taught in propositions 45, 47, and 48,
[208] of the Syllabus, and which are obligatory on all Catholics,
and very especially on Christian princes and governments. Contrary
to those rights, and entirely abusive and tyrannical, would be every
measure that the secular power might try to adopt in regard to the
religious orders of the archipelago: whether in meddling with their
regular regimen and discipline; whether in secularizing them; whether
in disentailing their property, or fettering their free disposition
of the same; whether in freeing their members from their obedience;
whether in depriving them of the honors or privileges which they
possess according to the canons, the laws of the Indias, and Christian
common law, as is expressed in proposition 53 of the above-mentioned
Syllabus. [209] Every law that attempts to suppress, diminish, or
weaken the sacred laws of personal, royal, or local ecclesiastical
immunity is contrary to the sacred rules of the Church. Also contrary
to the Church, and smacking of the heresies of Wickliffe and Luther,
is every ordinance that denies the clergy the right to the stipends
and fees that are due them from their holy ministry, and that
tries to meddle with matters of parochial fees, a thing that is
peculiar to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It is contrary to the
honor and sanctity of the religious estate to suppose it incapable
of exercising the care of souls, and to say that, in governing the
parishes, we violated the canons, when in exact accordance with them,
we christianized this country, and since have continued to minister
it. It is vexatious to the regular clergy, and opposed to the rights
legitimately acquired, for the civil authority to attempt to despoil
the religious corporations of the ministries and missions founded and
ruled by them, under the protection of the Leyes de Indias and the
sovereign ordinances of the apostolic see. Incompatible with the vow
of obedience that binds every religious, is the complete subjection
of the individuals of the regular clergy who discharge the care of
souls to the authority of the diocesan, depriving his prelate of
the attributes that he possesses over his subjects; and the bishop
cannot be allowed, to the loss or detriment of the rights of the
regular superior to suppress the regular curacies at his pleasure,
since the ministries depend immediately on the corporation which
appoints those religious who are to fulfil the duties of them.
The need of keeping intact the authority of the regular prelate over
his curas and missionaries. No one is ignorant that the religious
corporations of the archipelago are communities composed in their vast
majority of parish priests and missionaries. If that be so, and it must
be so, in order that the orders fulfil the peculiar end for which they
came to Filipinas, how could the jurisdiction of the regular prelate
he maintained, if the attributes that he has received from the holy
see, the only immediate authority to which the regulars are subject,
for the government of his subjects, of whatever class they be, be
lessened? By pontifical laws, the religious assigned to the doctrinas
and missions are considered absolutely as viventes intra claustra,
which signifies that they are governed by their peculiar superiors,
rights, and attributes, which are binding on every subject strictly
conventual. If it were not so, the individual life would be established
to a greater or less extent in the orders; their communal bonds would
disappear; the regular prelates would become mere figureheads; and the
religious corporations, losing the internal discipline that gives them
so much vigor and strength, would be converted into associations of
priests [presbiteros], who although they pronounced religious vows one
day, would afterwards have no other bonds with their superiors than
the corporative habit and name, and too, perchance, the possession
of the open door in order to take refuge in the convent whence they
went out, whenever they so desired or the bishop ordered it.
The action of the regular prelate over the curas and missionaries of
his order must be so active, immediate, energetic, and universal,
that he can change, remove, or transfer them, or give them another
occupation and appointment, and his authority over them must remain in
everything as powerful as if it were a question of the last one of the
conventual religious. That is required by the regular discipline; that
is demanded by the vow of obedience. In proportion as the attempt is
made with the individual to restrict or weaken the jurisdiction of the
order, it is equivalent to jesting at the intention of us religious,
who do not profess to be subjects of the bishop, but only to occupy
ourselves in the business of religion which our prelates assign us;
it is equivalent to disnaturalizing the religious corporations, and
consequently, to destroying them, the very thing that the separatists
are attempting.
Such a thing will not happen, we are sure; for the moment that a law
freeing the parish priests and missionaries from subordination to their
prelate, or lessening or restricting the latter's power, is dictated,
no religious, by bonds of conscience, would dare to continue at the
head of his parish or mission, and all would retire to their convents
at Manila. Such a thing will not happen, for the bishops themselves
would be energetically opposed to it, and would confess, as they
do, that precisely because the vast majority of their parish clergy
are regulars, their clergy live so morally and apply themselves so
assiduously to their ministry, and that scarcely would they find that
in secular priests [presbiteros] or in regulars not fully subject to
their order, and that they are consequently interested, through love
of their flock, in having the parish ministries of the archipelago
continue to be ruled by the same laws as hitherto. And such a thing
will not happen, we say, because the holy see, jealous guardian of
the interests of Christianity in the islands, not less than of the
prestige of the regulars, will not permit it; while, at the last,
the government would be placed in the dilemma, namely, that either
a suitable and sufficient personnel be proposed to it, which might
replace the religious corporations of Filipinas in a stable and worthy
manner, or, on the contrary, that the latter continue discharging
their actual duties, without the least diminution of the jurisdiction
of their respective regular prelates.
España's obligation to send ministers of the Catholic religion to these
islands and to solidly guaranty that religion. Such a thing will not
happen finally, for the government of the country can never forget
(regarding this point and the others with which the present exposition
is concerned) the will of Isabel the Catholic, the fundamental and
capital law of these dominions, by which the government is obliged
to send here prelates and religious and other learned and austere
persons of God, in order to instruct their inhabitants in the Catholic
faith, and to instruct and teach them good morals; for nothing must
be desired ahead of the publication and extension of the evangelical
law, and the conversion and conservation of the Indians in the holy
Catholic faith. "Inasmuch as we are directing our thought and care
to this as our chief aim, we order, and to the extent we may, charge
the members of our Council of Indias that laying aside every other
consideration of our profit and interest, they hold especially in
mind the matters of the conversion and instruction, and above all
that they be watchful and occupy themselves with all their might and
understanding in providing and appointing ministers sufficient for it,
and take all the other measures necessary so that the Indians and
natives may be converted and conserved in the knowledge of God our
Lord, the honor and praise of his holy name, so that, we fulfilling
this duty which so tightly binds us and which we so desire to satisfy,
the members of the said Council may discharge their consciences,
since we have discharged ours with them." (Law i, tít. i, book ii
and law viii, tít. ii, book ii of Recopilación de Indias.)
The Council of Ministers together with the ministry of the colonies
[210] has been substituted for the Council of Indias, of whose devotion
and zeal in fulfilling the fundamental duties of their trust, we
cannot harbor the least doubt.
Very expressive also to the question in hand is law lxv, tít. xiv,
book i of the same Recopilación. "We order the viceroys, presidents,
auditors, governors, and other justices of the Indias, to give all
the protection necessary for that service to the religious of the
orders resident in those provinces and occupied in the conversion
and instruction of the natives, to our entire satisfaction, by which
God has been, and is, served, and the natives much benefited, and to
honor them greatly, and encourage them to continue, and do the same,
and more, if possible, as we expect from their persons and goodness."
Words of the instructions to Legaspi; of the laws of Partìdas;
[211] of Felipe II. Thus was it commanded scores of times to the
authorities of these islands, and in harmony with that legislation,
in the instructions to the great Legaspi, it is expressly stated:
"You shall have special care in all the negotiations that you shall
have with the natives of those districts to have with you some of
the religious, both in order to make use of their good counsel,
and so that the natives may recognize and understand the great
consideration in which you hold them; for seeing that and the great
reverence given them by the soldiers, they will also come to respect
them. That will be very important, so that, when the religious impart
to them the matters pertaining to our holy Catholic faith, they may
give them full credit; since you know that his Majesty's chiefest end
is the salvation of the souls of those infidels. For that purpose,
in whatever district, you shall take particular care to aid the said
religious ... so that, having learned the language, they may labor
to bring the natives to the knowledge of our holy Catholic faith,
convert them to it, and reduce them to the obedience and friendship
of his Majesty." (Colec. de Doc. Inéd. de Ultramar, ii, p. 188.) [212]
That is the genuinely Spanish spirit, the glory of the human race,
and especially of Christianity, which caused our legislators to write
in the Partidas (Partida i, tít. vi, law lxii, and tít. xi): "Laymen
must honor and regard the clergy greatly, each one according to his
rank and his dignity: firstly, because they are mediators between God
and them; secondly, because by honoring them, they honor Holy Church,
whose servants they are, and honor the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is their head, for they are called Christians. And this honor
and this regard must be shown in three ways; in speech; in deed;
and in counsel." "The churches of the emperors, kings, and other
seigniors of the countries, have great privileges and liberties;
and these were very rightfully [given them], for the things of God
should have greater honor than those of men."
That is the spirit that was expressed by the mouth of Felipe II when
he answered those who proposed to him the abandonment of these islands,
in consideration of the few resources that the public treasury derived
from them: "For the conversion of only one soul of those there,
I would give all the treasures of the Indias, and were they not
sufficient I would give most willingly whatever España yields. Under
no consideration shall I abandon or discontinue to send preachers and
ministers to give the light of the holy gospel to all and whatever
provinces may be discovered, however poor, rude, and barren they may
be, for the holy apostolic see has given to us and to our heirs the
duty possessed by the apostles of publishing and preaching the gospel,
which must be spread there and into an infinite number of kingdoms,
taking them from the power of devils and giving them to know the true
God, without any hope of temporal blessings."
Duties of the government and of others in regard to religious
interests in the islands. Consequently, those offenses that should
be most prosecuted in Filipinas, and against which the government
should prove especially active, are offenses against religion and
against ecclesiastical persons, as such offenses are those which
wound the greatest social welfare, and are most directly opposed to
the fundamental obligation that España contracted on incorporating
these islands with its crown. Hence, masonry, an anti-Catholic and
anti-national society, ought not to be permitted, but punished
severely; every propaganda against the dogmas, precepts, and
institutions of our holy Mother, the Church, ought to be proscribed;
outrages against the clergy and religious ought to be punished with
greater rigor than when committed against any other class of persons,
giving such outrages the character of sacrilege, which they positively
possess; all, from the governor-general to the lowest dependent of
the State, ought to exert themselves to demonstrate by their word
and example, in public and in private, and without those conventional
exteriorities of pure social form (a Catholicism that becomes naught
but mere observance and courtesy, and which, unfortunately, abounds
so widely), that they love and respect the Catholic religion, and
that they esteem more the duties toward God and toward His holy
Church that proceed from it, than any other duty and obligation,
however exalted and respectable may be the institution that imposes it.
Hence the government of the nation and exalted authorities must be
the first who ought to destroy, not only in their official, but in
their private acts, and as politicians, authors, government employees,
military men, in the different orders of social life, the ridiculous
and contemptuous idea that free thought has sown against priests
and religious, permitting themselves to talk of them in a tone that
honors the clergy so little, and which when known by the elements of
other inferior social classes, cause respect to the Catholic priest to
become weakened daily, many judging that the religion of officials is
frequently nothing more than a social hypocrisy and a practice of pure
political convenience. Hence the government ought to very carefully
see that all its personnel in the archipelago be sincere and earnest
Catholics, in order that the sad spectacle may not be again seen,
that we have so often and so prodigally witnessed, by which the chief
ones, in opposing the apostolic labor of the religious corporations,
are the very ones, who, inasmuch as they are functionaries of a
Catholic state, ought to be those who support and strengthen it the
most. Hence every association, assembly, or undertaking which is
trying to sow here anti-religious or anti-clerical ideas, under any
color or pretext, even the exercise of political rights, ought to be
prevented at all hazards from having any representation or branch in
these islands; and the previous censorship over every kind of book,
pamphlet, and engraving that comes from outside, and over those
which shall be published here, should be restored, or better said,
strengthened. Hence, the close union of all the peninsular element
here resident becomes more necessary, so that, all united for the
protection of our divine religion, by all respected and obeyed,
we may resist the enemies of the fatherland with greater force; may
not by our discords give the rebel camp opportunity to gain strength;
and as far as possible, may succeed in elevating the moral prestige,
today, unfortunately fallen so low. Hence, likewise, is the great
necessity of the disappearance in gubernatorial circles of an erroneous
idea, most fatal and extremely disrespectful to the orders, which,
propagated by sectarian spirits or by bad or lukewarm Catholics,
seems now to be a postulate of many politicians in Madrid, and of
the majority of peninsulars who come to this archipelago.
Infamous idea in regard to the importance of the orders and the manner
in which they are generally regarded. We refer to the idea which began
to spread after the revolution of '68, which looks upon the religious
of Filipinas as an evil necessity, as an archaic institution, with
which differences must be composed for reasons of state; as a purely
political resource, and a convenience to the nation, which cannot
be substituted with others. That infamous idea, manifested at times
frankly, and at times with reticence or with insinuations that cut more
deeply than a knife, is known by our declared enemies. It is known
by the natives of the country who have been in the Peninsula. It is
known, because it has been propagated in newspapers and other products
of the press that have penetrated the archipelago, by a vast number
of natives, who, with having left Filipinas, are notably offended by
it. All the peninsulars who make war on us, whether by anti-religious
prejudices, by doctrinal compromise, by personal resentment, by
flippancy, or by envy (for among all those classes do we have enemies)
help to spread and propagate that idea throughout the islands.
From that idea many deduce the opinion that we are dragging out in
this country an existence of pure compassion and condescension;
that we are living here, tolerated and as if on alms, instead of
honored and respected as any other institution of the mother-country;
that in many ways, one would believe that we religious are less and
have less value than the military, than the government employes, or
than those of other professions and careers; and that with wonderful
facility one imputes to us, as to the most abandoned and destitute,
the blame for all the evils that afflict the country, governors
and other representatives of the government and administration
of the islands availing themselves of our name of obliged appeal,
in order to evade and shun responsibilities, whenever any calamity
comes upon them or whenever there is any unpleasant event to bewail
in their conduct. For all, there is indulgence, for all, excuse, for
all kindness and the eyes of charity. The epoch is one of adjustment
and respect for all manner of extensions, although with the loss of
morality and justice. Only in what concerns priests and religious
must one look with contemptuous pride, with extreme rigor, and with
despotic exaction. The religious has to pay it all; on him must all
the blame be cast; to him belong the feelings of anger, the aversions,
the censures, the expressions of contempt. We appear, your Excellency,
to be only the anima vilis [213] of the archipelago.
It is evident that we, as the priestly and religious class, and as a
Spanish corporation, cannot in any manner consent to this humiliating
position, which, as private persons, obliged to greater perfection
than the generality of Christians, we endure patiently, remembering
the words of the apostle "tamquam purgamenta hujus mundi facti sumus
omnium peripsema usque adhuc," [214] and of which we would not speak
if the evil were restricted to one of so many annoyances annexed
to our ministry; so much the more as we unfortunately see that that
injurious and erroneous idea is greatly injuring our ministry, and is
daily causing our influence among the people who are entrusted to us
to become lessened, since they are assailed strongly and tenaciously
by all the disturbing agents that have caused the insurrection.
Respect that they merit as religious and as Spaniards. The religious
corporations ought to be greatly honored and distinguished (and it
grieves us deeply, your Excellency, to have to speak of these things):
firstly, because their individual members are adorned with the priestly
character, which is the greatest honor and dignity among Christians
that men can have; secondly, because their apostolic mission has
here propagated and preserves the splendors of Catholicism. They
are priests and they are religious: thus they unite the two devices
that inspire the greatest veneration among any society, which feels
some needs superior to the material, or those of their proud reason
divorced from Jesus Christ.
Not less respect do they merit in their character as Spanish
entities. Besides being here ministers of the official religion, they
are public ecclesiastical persons, recognized by the state. They live
under its safeguard, as do the military and civil entities. They have
labored, and are laboring, for the fatherland, at least as much as any
other class of Spaniards residing in the archipelago. And in the point
of intelligence, within their respective profession and of morality
and private and civic virtues, they rise not only collectively, but
individually, to so great a height as the class that is considered
the most high and reputable in the archipelago.
There is one most special reason and one of extraordinary importance
which demands that that respect should be sanctioned by the laws and
supported by customs, namely, that the religious in his respective
duties, becomes, as a general rule, the only peninsular, and,
therefore, the only representative of the mother-country in the
majority of the Filipino villages. Consequently, Spanish prestige is
greatly interested in that he be the object of such considerations and
guaranties that these inhabitants far from seeing, as unfortunately
they have not a few times seen, that he is despised and humbled,
be daily more fortified in the traditional idea that their cura or
missionary is, at once the minister of God and the representative
of España, a lofty idea that has redounded, and redounds, so greatly
to the favor of the mother-country, and says so much in honor of all
the Spanish entities.
We came to the archipelago through our love to religion and España,
and have remained in it more than three centuries, ready to continue
here so long as conscience does not dictate the contrary to us. Gross
temporal considerations do not move us, nor sentiments of pride and
of mere personal dignity. In the fulfilment of our duties, we have
striven to attain even sacrifice and by the grace of God, we shall
continue the sacrifice. A good proof of this is offered the impartial
critic by the present epoch of rebellions and insurrections. The
cura and missionaries, in spite of persuasions that they were putting
their lives in great danger by the continual plots of the ferocious
Katipunan, have steadfastly maintained themselves in their posts,
foreseeing that if they abandoned their parishioners, a general rising
of the islands was almost certain. This procedure, if not heroic, is
sufficiently near it, and has cost us many victims, snatching away our
dearest brethren from us, some treacherously assassinated and others
immolated by reckless mobs seduced by filibusters and masons. And
although this sad sacrifice has seemingly not been bewailed and
appreciated, as perhaps it ought to be by the loyal sons of España,
we trust that God, the compassionate and generous remunerator of every
good deed, will in His infinite mercy, receive it as a propitiation
for the evils of this unfortunate country, and will have rewarded
the martyrs of religion and of the fatherland.
Character and objects of this exposition. May the nation, government,
and your Excellency, pardon this slight extension of our sentiments of
dignity, offended as religious and as Spaniards. This is not a memorial
of merits and services, since we have never solicited applause or
recompense, which never constitute the lever of our labors. Neither is
it a panegyric, which we are not called upon to make, and which we do
not believe is wanting, since the history of the religious corporations
of Filipinas detaches itself so patiently and cleanly in all kinds
of just and upright progress. It contains some apologetic matter and
much of most sensible complaint because of the unjustifiable injuries
that almost daily are received by us. It is the weak expression of the
profound bitterness that seizes upon us at contemplating and viewing
from anear the condition of vast disturbance in which this beautiful
portion of the fatherland finds itself. With the utmost respect and
submission, laying aside absolutely whatever proceeds from political
parties and much more from private persons, it tells the government
with Christian simplicity and synthetically that it should adopt and
maintain a perfectly logical criterion with regard to the religious
corporations of Filipinas; and that, therefore, if it thinks, as is
just and decorous, that we, the religious corporations, exercise a
most lofty and necessary mission in the archipelago, honorable and
worthy of the greatest consideration, of its own accord and without
utilitarian considerations and false reasons of state, it so manifest
clearly and with nobility, making a beginning by giving a practical
example of that in its laws and decrees, and in its instructions to the
authorities of these islands, and that it do not allow us to be annoyed
or insulted; and so much the more since being weak and helpless,
and bound as we are by religious weakness and patience, we have no
other means of defense than our right and the protection of the good,
and we can never appeal to the means of repression and influence to
which we allude in the beginning of this expository statement.
But if the government, on the contrary, by an error that we would
respect, not without qualifying it, in our humble judgment, as most
fatal to the interests of religion and the fatherland, should believe
that the religious have terminated their traditional mission here,
let it also have the frankness to say so. We shall listen to its
resolution calmly. But let it not imagine, in adopting measures which,
attaching, although without claiming it, the privileges of the Church,
our profession as priests and regulars, and our honor as refined
Spaniards, that in practice it might appear that it was trying to
burn one candle to Christ and another to Belial, that it was trying
to please masons and Catholics, good patriots and separatists, by
placing the orders in a so graceless situation that they might become
like the mouthful that was thrown into the jaws of the wild beast in
order to silence its roars for the time being.
Synthesis of the same. Such would happen if the secularization
of the regular ministries; the secularization of education; the
disamortization of the property of the corporations, or the expression
of the liberty that belongs to them to enjoy and dispose of them;
the declaration of the tolerance of worship; the establishment of
civil marriage; the permission of every kind of association; and
the liberty of the press became law. Such would happen, in what more
directly concerns us, if the government continuing here and there its
campaign against us, unjustifiable from every point of view, were to
show by its acts that it actually conceives that we have been the cause
of the insurrection, and that we are opposed to the progress of these
islands, and to the unfolding of their legitimate aspirations. Such
would happen, if the government, failing to rigorously prosecute
secret societies, and to effectively correct the seditious ones who
are exciting the ignorant masses of the people against the regulars
and against all that is most holy and Spanish in the islands, should
desire the religious to continue in their ministries, liable at any
moment to be sacrificed, as is the terrible watchword of the sect,
and which has already unfortunately occurred, without, perhaps, their
having even the consolation that those sacrifices are appreciated.
If we religious are to continue to be of use in the islands to religion
and España, no one can have any doubt that it must be by thoroughly
guarantying our persons, our prestige, and our ministry, it must be by
knowing that the fatherland appreciates and treats us as its sons, and
that it must not abandon us as an object of derision to our enemies,
and as victims to the rancor of masonry and separatism. Martyrdom
does not terrify us, but only honors us, although we do not consider
ourselves worthy of so holy an honor: but we do not desire to die as
if criminals, enveloped with the censures of friends and enemies,
and perhaps, abandoned and despised by those who ought to protect
and esteem us.
That is the extremely gloomy and graceless situation in which the
orders find themselves, especially since the beginning of the Tagárog
insurrection, and above all, since the extension of the Katipunan,
a situation that threatens to become worse, if the government becomes
the echo of the filibusters, of the masons, of the radical elements,
which, it seems, have conspired together to give the finishing stroke
to the great social-religious edifice, raised in these islands by
Catholic España.
By that no one should be surprised that we religious, placed in so
imminent a peril, desirous of not offering abstracts to the policy of
any government, and of avoiding the censure that we are the cause of
the evils of the country and the bar to its progress, should choose the
abandonment of our ministries, exile, and expatriation, in preference
to our continuance in the islands in a situation, which, if prolonged
for a longer time, will result as decidedly dishonoring to our class,
and would make our permanence in the archipelago unfruitful.
We have fulfilled our duty here as good men; such is our firm
conviction. Should we go elsewhere, there, by the grace of God,
we shall also be able to fulfil our duty. And for that result, the
holy see, if contrary to all our just expectations, it cannot succeed
in making itself heard by the Spanish nation, will not deny us the
opportune permission.
Fortunately, we have trust in the noble sentiments and deeply-rooted
Catholicism of her Majesty, the queen regent; we trust in the devotion
and patriotism of the ministers of the crown; we trust in the sensible
opinion shared by the majority of the Spanish people; we trust in the
intelligence and spirit of justice of the Catholic minister of the
colonies; and we trust that, after listening to the most dignified
prelates of these islands, and after taking into consideration the
prescriptions of natural and canonical law, the exalted advantages
of the fatherland in these regions, and the undeniable services that
the religious orders in Filipinas have contributed, no resolution
contrary to the teachings and precepts of our holy Mother, the Church,
will be adopted, and which is contrary to the prestige of the regular
clergy, but that, on the contrary, the Catholic institutions of this
archipelago will be once more affirmed and strengthened, as is imposed
by both religion and the fatherland.
In this confidence, and reiterating our traditional adhesion to the
throne, and to its institutions, we conclude, praying God for the
prosperity and new progress of the monarchy, for the health of his
Majesty, the king, and of her Majesty, the queen regent (whom may God
preserve), and for prudence of the Cortes and the government in their
resolutions, and very especially for your Excellency, whose life may
God preserve many years. [215]
Manila, April 21, 1898. Your Excellency.
Fray Manuel Gutierrez, provincial of the Augustinians.
Fray Gilberto Martin, commissary-provincial of the Franciscans.
Fray Francisco Ayarra, provincial of the Recollects.
Fray Cándido Garcia Valles, vice-provincial of the Dominicans.
Pio Pí, S.J., superior of the mission of the Society of Jesus.
Notice. Because of the impossibility, due to the length of this
exposition, of drawing up the copies necessary for the archives of
each corporation, it has been agreed by the respective superiors,
to print an edition of fifty copies, ten for each corporation, which
are destined for the purpose stated above.
Collated faithfully with its original, and to be considered throughout
as an authentic text. In affirmation of which, as secretary of my
corporation and by the order of my prelate, I sign and seal the
present copy in Manila, April 21, 1898.
Fray Francisco Sadaba Del Carmen, secretary-provincial of the
Recollects. [216]
There is a seal that says: "Provincialate of the Recollects."
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The documents in this volume are obtained from the following sources:
1. Internal condition of Philippines.--From a typewritten copy
furnished by Epifanio de los Santos from the rare printed original
(volume iii of Mas's Informe) in his possession.
2. Matta's report.--From an unpublished MS. in the possession of
T. H. Pardo de Tavera, who furnished to the Editors a typewritten
copy of it.
3. The Philippines, 1860-1898.--Written especially for this series
by James A. LeRoy, Durango, Mexico.
4. Events in Filipinas.--Summarized from volume iii of Montero y
Vidal's Historia de Filipinas.
5. Constitution of Liga Filipina.--From a copy, furnished by Epifanio
de los Santos, of Rizal's original MS.
6. Friar memorial.--From James A. LeRoy's copy of one of the printed
originals, revised by a printed copy belonging to the Madrid edition.
7. Appendix on agriculture.--The first section, from a printed copy
of Basco's decree (Sampaloc, 1784) belonging to Edward E. Ayer; the
second, from Jagor's Reisen (Berlin, 1873), pp. 303-306, from a copy
in the Mercantile Library, St. Louis; the third, from Fernandez and
Moreno's Manuel del viajero en Filipinas (Manila, 1875), pp. 172-178,
from a copy belonging to the Editors.
APPENDIX: AGRICULTURE IN FILIPINAS
By Joseph Basco y Vargas (Arayat, March 20, 1784), and others.
Sources: The first section of this document is obtained from a
printed copy of Basco's decree, in the possession of Edward E. Ayer;
the second part, from Jagor's Reisen, pp. 303-306; the third, from
Fernandez and Moreno's Manual del viajero en Filipinas, pp. 172-178.
Translations: All these are made by Emma Helen Blair.
APPENDIX: AGRICULTURE IN FILIPINAS
A decree by Basco in 1784
Don Joseph Basco y Vargas, Balderrama y Rivera, knight of the Order
of Santiago, commander of a division in the royal navy, governor and
captain-general of these Filipinas Islands and president of their
royal Audiencia and Chancilleria, commander-in-chief of the troops
of his Majesty in these dominions, general superintendent of the
royal treasury, and of the royal revenue from tobacco, and delegate
superintendent of that from the mail service, etc.
[The author begins by showing the importance, necessity, and advantage
of agriculture to both the state and the individual, with illustrations
drawn from history and observation in various countries of the world,
and continues:]
Since agriculture is so necessary for the subsistence of mankind, and
the maintenance of kingdoms, it is not wonderful that it should be so
cared for by the wise and by kings, and that the lawmakers of nations
should have ennobled this pursuit with special privileges. Especially
have been distinguished in this direction the Spanish monarchs, who,
besides other privileges granted in favor of the farmers, have thought
it well to decree that neither the implements for their labors, nor
their lands, should be taken from them for any civil debt; and also
they granted to these laborers the privilege that they could not be
imprisoned for any civil debt in the season for their harvesting and
field labors, authorizing the superior judges to grant them delay
in such cases. But besides these so useful and valuable benefits
the natives of Filipinas enjoy still others more extraordinary. For
their security, besides having ordained that their goods shall not be
seized for costs in lawsuits, nor shall they be punished with pecuniary
fines, conferring upon them other favors of the same kind, it has been
likewise commanded that no one may lend money to them above the sum
of five pesos, under the penalty of losing what is lent them beyond
that. In all these things the monarchs have sought to release the
farmers from many oppressions and injuries, and to prevent the losses
and deficits which otherwise, for most of the vassals, are caused
by caring for the interests and profits of a few individuals. But
it occasions the greatest sorrow that in Filipinas, contrary to the
pious and Christian intention of our kings--and especially that of
the wise monarch, who is now prosperously governing us, our lord Don
Carlos III (whom may God preserve)--Spaniards should have acted,
in regard to these exemptions, without any heed or consideration
for the injuries which have resulted here to the Indians and their
agriculture, and with notable loss of the wealth which the fertility
and valuable products of this country promise.
And since this chief executive, actuated by what he himself has
observed in this province of Pampanga, in that of Bulacan, and in
those of Tondo and Laguna de Bay (which he has visited personally),
cannot any longer permit such extortions and injuries as are caused,
among all classes of persons, to the farmers and poor Indians in the
said provinces, and in the other districts to which this decree will
also be made to extend: I command that in future the implements of
labor--such as carabaos, plows, hemp-combs, and other field utensils
belonging to the Indians, mestizos, creoles, Spaniards, or any other
class of persons--shall not be seized for a civil debt, any more than
their lands, since most of them have no ownership in these. Moreover,
they shall not be arrested at the times when they must work in the
fields, such as plowing, and gathering their harvests: and, at the
times when they can be arrested, authority shall be given to the
alcaldes-mayor so that they can grant them a respite of six months,
without loading them with fees or other exactions.
And, as the backward state of agriculture in Filipinas proceeds
also from the fact that, notwithstanding there are many industrious,
laborious and charitable persons in the villages, there are also many
others in whom sloth and idleness reign--for instance, many chiefs and
their sons, and the heads of barangay; and generally these who have
exercised the office of magistrate (who, on account of having served
in these employments, afterward refuse through a sort of vanity and
pride to go back to field work), all these caring only to subjugate the
common people by compelling them to work without pay in their fields,
and trying to exempt themselves from the common labor, and from the
other burdens to which those who pay tribute are subject--likewise
this chief executive has resolved to declare that such exemptions
ought not to be understood for the classes of persons who are mentioned
above, unless they possess at least eight cabalitas of their own land
cultivated and worked by their servants or day-laborers, expressly
forbidding that they rent these lands to others--always provided that
they are not prevented by age or infirmities from carrying on their
farm-work in person, since in this case they are allowed to rent them.
And although, in regard to the contract of casamajan [217] which
they commonly practice, absolute prohibition ought to be made to
them on account of the burden which ensues from it to the poor, and
also to their own consciences, on account of the many usurious acts
which are committed therein, [yet] considering, as has been already
stated, that there will be many who, on account of age and sickness,
cannot themselves attend to the cultivation of their land, this chief
executive consents to grant such persons a contract of that sort,
under the condition that whatever loan is made to the farmers by
their partners, it shall be in the form of palay, and they shall
collect it in the same; that is, if they shall lend, for example,
four cavans [of rice], they shall receive four others. And the same is
ordained in regard to money, so that if they shall lend, for example,
two pesos they shall receive only two pesos; and, if they shall lend
cloth, if it is not returned they may only receive its just value at
the time when the bargain was made--under the penalty that no judge
shall admit any claim in contravention of this ordinance, and the
complainants shall lose what they had lent.
Besides this, I have in the same manner heard of the unjust and vile
bargains which the usurers make in regard to the cultivated lands,
and even the trees which the farmers cultivate in their gardens, and
their houses, binding them with the agreement of retrovendendi, [218]
as it is commonly called, exacting from him who is bound--sometimes
for many years, and sometimes forever--the produce and the ownership
[of those possessions], for a small amount which the lender has
furnished. They also exact a premium for the money which they lend,
sometimes in valuables, and sometimes besides these. This is done by
a multitude of usurers who overrun the island, with great offense to
God and injury to their neighbors. In order to redress such evils,
which provoke divine justice against the islands, this chief executive
has also resolved to ordain that in future such contracts shall not
be made, either by writing or in words; for they are null and void,
and usurious. And we forbid all the magistrates of these islands
to give hearing to any claim arising from these contracts; if they
contravene this order, they remain responsible for all losses and
injuries, with the penalty, besides, of a fine of five hundred pesos.
Besides this, the inhabitants of all the islands ought to have
understood that the lands which they obtained are all royal [realengas]
or communal, with the exception of those which they possess through
inheritance, or through legitimate purchase from the native chiefs
[caciques] who were cultivating them at the time when the Catholic
faith was established in Filipinas, and when they rendered fidelity,
obedience, and vassalage to the august Spanish monarchs; and of those
which were purchased from his Majesty with title of ownership from
the royal Audiencia. [They should also understand] that for this
reason the royal lands cannot be absolutely sold or alienated, since
they only enjoy the use and usufruct of them; consequently, those
who fail to cultivate them for the years appointed by the Audiencia
lose this right of use, and the magistrates ought to assign these
lands immediately to another person. As for the rest of the lands,
no one can obtain them except by right of purchase and agreement
with the tribunal of indults and compositions [219] of lands, which
his Majesty has established for this purpose. In the same manner, the
lands which they hold by this tenure, as those inherited, or purchased
from native chiefs, they cannot sell without the intervention of
the court of justice. For this reason, warning is given that in the
house-lots of the villages also they have no more than the use of the
land; on this account, whenever the term of three years has passed
without those who had formerly lived on them building houses on these
lots, it has been and is the duty of the court to assign these lots
to other persons--without allowing or accepting lawsuit or claim,
when this neglect is evident, either through general report or by the
verbal deposition of witnesses who have resided there a long time and
are conscientious; for these house-lots are common property of the
villages in which they are located, and for this reason the ownership
of them cannot be sold, because this title does not belong to those
who dwell in them. In regard to this matter, and with observation
and knowledge of the injuries connected with it, this chief executive
(having been actually present in this, province of Pampanga, and in
the others that have been named) likewise ordains that the house and
house-lot cannot be seized from any debtor, of whatever class he may
be, as is commonly done--leaving in the street, and exposed to beggary
and other evils, a multitude of Indians who perhaps would again be
self-supporting, if they could have recourse to their own sheltering
roof (which hardly would be worth as much as ten pesos), and the trees
which they enjoyed on their own land. Proceedings must be taken only
against their goods, without leaving them or their wives destitute;
for it is very well known (as those who lend ought to know) that no
one can lend to a native more than five pesos--an amount which he
can easily pay with his work, or with some article of luxury which
he may possess. This regulation must serve for the magistrates,
as they are ordained and commanded, in order that they may conform
to it; and, in virtue of the ordinance by his Majesty that in cases
involving from one to five hundred pesos formal claim shall not be
brought into court, the alcaldes-mayor shall decide these verbally,
without receiving formal complaints, or anything else except the
[original] documents, or the verbal declaration or confrontation of
the parties. It must be noted that in cases where this is necessary,
and the complaining party shall name some valuable article which is
worth the amount of his demand, the magistrate shall proceed to sell
it in the public square; and by selling it to the highest bidder,
in one day (which shall be announced by the public crier), payment
shall be made to the claimant, handing over the rest to the debtor,
and deducting only such fees as are proper for the few hours of
time which the judge may have spent on the case. By this, however,
must be understood that in such cases their wooden houses which may
have some value (as they actually do in most of the villages) shall
not remain exempt from seizure; for it is certain that the owners of
such houses, if through ill-luck or calamity they come to misfortune,
can never lack some means among their own relatives for establishing
themselves in some humble house, which they can erect as cheaply as
I have just stated.
In regard to the repartimientos of people for the royal works,
which are constructed in the provinces near Manila, as also in
regard to the domestic servants [tanores], and other people who are
assigned for work on the churches, government buildings, and jails,
and guards [bantayes], etc., various regulations have been made;
but, knowing that these are not sufficient to uproot so many wrongs,
injuries and oppressions as the Indians suffer from the magistrates
of their villages, and from the heads of barangay--making the villages
contribute a greater number of people than is needed and required, and
exempting from their turn of service those who should render it (both
of these proceedings serving to defraud the poor, who, in order not to
leave their grain fields, yield whatever the magistrates and chiefs
ask from them, according to their caprice and the extent of their
greed)--it is ordained and commanded that both these repartimientos
be carried out with the knowledge and consent of the parish curas. To
each individual cura must be sent a statement of the number of people
necessary, and of the quota from each village; and the headmen shall
be under strict obligation to obtain certificates from the said father
curas that they have carried out the repartimiento in conformity with
the decrees. It must be understood that these repartimientos cannot
be made in conscience, and without contravention of the law, among the
farmers and artisans who are occupied in their tasks, so long as there
are wandering and idle people, since these last are the ones assigned
by the law for these necessities. As little are the sons of the chief
exempt, or the heads of barangay who have no occupation, or those who
have held an official position, if, relying on this sort of privilege,
they do not return to their former occupation or duties in the field.
Finally, it is ordained and commanded to all the governors,
corregidors, alcaldes-mayor, and other magistrates throughout the
island, that they most punctually observe and fulfil whatever is here
decreed, in order thus to render greater service to God, and to the
king--who has entrusted to the carefulness, conscience and vigilance
of this supreme government the welfare of these islands and of all
their inhabitants; also their social condition, just government,
promotion, and reputation. And the said governors, corregidors,
alcaldes-mayor and other magistrates here mentioned are warned to
fulfil whatever is here decreed, under a penalty of five hundred
pesos fine; and on the alcaldes of the natives, the mestizos, and
others of their class a fine of twenty pesos is imposed, both fines
to be applied in the usual manner. These fines shall be exacted from
them whenever any application shall be presented that is founded upon
any transgression of this decree, or when its infraction shall be
proved in any manner. And as it is necessary that the parish priests
shall aid, on their side, and shall be zealous for its fulfilment,
the reverend and illustrious archbishops and bishops and the devout
provincials of the islands shall be urgently requested to incite
and oblige their parish priests to the observance of these wholesome
regulations and ordinances, charging upon their consciences that if
they know of any failure to observe the decree, they shall communicate
it to the supreme government. The said reverend prelates shall also be
notified that this supreme government expects--from their well-known
zeal and love for their flocks, and because they have resigned all
else for the greater service of God and of the king--that they will
coöperate by their utterances and with their effective persuasions in
fulfilling by all means the desires and intentions of the governor,
who considers himself under the strictest obligation to issue this
ordinance, and to command that it be carried out until his Majesty
shall be pleased to confirm it. Before his royal throne will be
presented the merit and activity of each one of those who excel
in solicitude for its observance, a full account of which will be
given to his Majesty in our next despatches. And, in order that this
decree may be known in all the villages and in all the districts of
the island, and published with all possible fulness and clearness,
it shall be translated into all the dialects; and as many copies as
shall be necessary shall be printed, in two columns, the first in
Castilian, and the second in the respective idiom of the province to
which it shall be sent. Copies of these shall be posted everywhere
in the magistrates' offices of the villages, and printed copies shall
be supplied to all the courts of the capital, in order that they may
observe and fulfil the decree, so far as it belongs to them.
At the village of Arayat, on the twentieth day of the month of March,
1784,
Don Joseph Basco y Vargas
By command of his Lordship:
Vizente Gonzales de Tagle, notary-public ad interim of the
government. [220]
AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS IN 1866
[The following article is taken from Jagor's Reisen, pp. 303-306.]
Excepting some large estates acquired in earlier times through
donation, landed property originated mainly through the right of
occupation by the possessor and his rendering the land productive which
even now is a common right recognized in the laws of the Indias in
favor of the indigenous inhabitants. In the exercise of this right,
the native takes possession of such unused land as is necessary
for his house and tilled fields, and loses it only when it remains
uncultivated for two years. Setting aside these native (and likewise
very poor) landed proprietors, landed property is legally acquired in
the following manner: through purchase from the state of a certain
area of unimproved crown lands [Spanish, realengas]; through actual
purchase from the natives who possess property; through contracts
(called pactos de retro) concluded with the natives; and through
the pledging or hypothecation of bonds, which even these natives are
accustomed to agree to, especially in commercial dealings.
The first of these means ought to be a source of wealth; but it is
not, for various reasons. At present very few persons are familiar
with the legislation regarding the unused crown land, which consists
of numberless single decrees forming a casuistical, disconnected,
complicated, and confused mass.... By a royal order of 1857, the first
offer for untilled crown lands was fixed at fifty dollars a quiñon;
and the concession could not be secured without a previous public
auction. From that time private persons held aloof from such demands;
to the former evils are added the high price, and the danger of being
outbidden in the auction, and thus of losing one's trouble and expense
for the examination of the lands. In 1859 the decree was modified, and
the former price of four reals a quiñon as first offer was established;
but this decree is not yet published.
In order that capital may flow into agriculture--without which that
industry cannot possibly be developed to the production of grain
and colonial products for exportation--it is absolutely necessary
to overcome all obstacles which discourage men of wealth. Among
these hindrances stands in the first rank the local administration,
in regard to the granting of untilled crown lands; in the second,
the obstructions which are placed in the way of both [Spanish]
natives and foreigners who wish to acquire rights of settlement and
citizenship in the community. Besides the difficulty of acquiring large
possessions, still others exist. The planter can easily find laborers,
to whom he must make considerable advances in food, cattle, and money;
but the Indians pay little attention to fulfilling their contracts,
and the legal means at the command of the planter for compelling
them to fulfill their past engagements are as burdensome and ruinous
as even the abandonment of his rights. Unless the alcalde is active
and shows good-will, the planters usually prefer not to press their
claims; they endure the loss, and many are thus induced to abandon
their enterprises. This cancer on agriculture will disappear as soon
as every Indian possesses a certificate of citizenship [Bürgerbrief;
Spanish, cédula de vecindad]. If one weathers the first year, storms,
locusts, and business crises are to be expected later, all of which
depress the price of his product. In such cases it is for the planter
the greatest evil that no credit exists. There are no mortgages, at
least there is no compulsory registration of mortgages; accordingly,
no one dares to lend his money on such estates, or he does it only at
crushing rates of usurious interest. An improvement in this respect is
urgently demanded by the agricultural interests, both great and small,
by the mercantile class, and by large and small estates; it would place
a limit to the pacto de retro, as well as to the usurious contracts
which are called in Luzon tacalanan, in Bisaya alili--the furnishing
of loans on the proceeds of the next harvest--to which must be ascribed
the misery and the backward conditions that prevail in many places....
The pacto de retro is one of the most usual modes in which landed
property passes from the possession of the natives to others. A
considerable part of Pampanga, Bataan, Manila, Laguna, Batangas,
and other provinces has, within a few years, changed owners in this
way. Thus also do the inexpressibly cunning and thrifty mestizos
usually acquire their landed possessions, the cultivation of which
they then improve; but that does not prevent this custom from being
detrimental to the public welfare. The native who possesses a piece of
land through placing it under cultivation and actually occupying it,
but almost never (or very seldom) by purchase from another owner, when
he finds himself in pressing need of money offers his land as a pledge
for the desired loan from a capitalist; but where he has no document to
establish and prove his just claim, no foundation exists for a loan on
mortgage under moderate conditions, since the applicant is free from
all burdens and obligations. The capitalist therefore looks for his
own security in immediate possession. The hypotheca is converted into
an antichresis security (prenda pretoria), and as it is with great
difficulty (or at least it very seldom occurs), that the Indian who
receives the money consents to pay it back at the appointed time,
and it is not to the lender's interest to force him to pay it, the
result is, that for a sum corresponding to the secured loan--that is,
for a half or a third of the value of the security--the piece of land
finally changes proprietors. Not seldom it happens that the former
proprietor remains on the land as a farmer (that is, as a laborer,
in reality as a slave to his debts). Often the Indian is seduced into
contracts of this sort by his passion for cockfighting and gambling.
The laws of the country require the Indians to live in villages,
uniting their farms into hamlets, so that they can be watched over
and their tributes collected. In ordinary circumstances, the Indian
builds for himself a hut in his field, where he lives while he is
working his land, and goes on Saturday evenings to the village in
order to hear mass on Sunday. His field has no great value for him,
since he can always put another piece of land into cultivation,
so great is the surplus of land in all the villages remote from
the capital. The facility with which he can abandon one tract to
take possession of another is very detrimental to the development
of agriculture. A small landed proprietor, who has planted a bit of
waste land with rice or potatoes without asking any one's permission,
raises an outcry if his garden is entered by a cow or a horse that
grazed there years ago; and, since the law stands in his favor, he
is allowed to receive from the owner of the cattle payment for often
imaginary damages, while the loss from such causes should be borne
by him who cultivates a field without enclosing it.
This same small proprietor avails himself for his own benefit, of
all the privileges and rights of an entire village of Indians, if a
wealthy man desires to lay out a plantation in his neighborhood. The
capitalist who has decided on such a plan often finds that on land
which was before entirely unfilled and waste, when he has after long
difficulties acquired control of his property, and has reckoned a
certain amount [of expense], some Indians have planted a grain field;
and through testimonies covered with signatures, which are presented
in the court, they assert that they inherited these very lands from
their fathers, and have never ceased to work them.
A remedy for these abuses would consist in the limitation of districts,
and the jurisdiction of the municipality, so that, for the purpose
of increasing the landed property for the inhabitants of a village,
so much land should remain free as they could at the time reasonably
claim--more or less than the so-called municipal field (legua comunal),
of which, besides, no law makes mention. All the remaining land
located within the jurisdiction should be declared the property of
the crown, and the title to all possessions then located outside of
municipal control should be valid; but in future all possessions that
shall not conform to the said rules shall be declared invalid. Within
the municipal limits or the legal property of the village (which may
not extend beyond the sound of the bell) the native farmer should be
allowed to dwell, [even] outside of the village, in the midst of the
lands cultivated by him; and only in case he alienates or abandons
these should he be compelled to live in the village. The natives
should bring new plots under cultivation within the municipality,
and be able to acquire these by paying to the communal treasury
a small ground-rent, or a moderate sum once for all. Such grants
should proceed, with all publicity, from the entire body of the
notables, with the cooperation of the parish priest, and be recorded
in a safely-kept book in every village, and should never contain
a greater area than the applicant can till with his own carabaos
[Büffeln]. If such grant of state land does not exceed a quinõn, it
should be issued, according to the aforesaid forms, by the alcalde
[221] of the province; if of greater extent, in the capital of the
colony; but all ought to be recorded in the land-register of the
province and village concerned. Those measures that were taken for
the benefit of the natives and the promotion of cattle-raising, but
which have an opposite effect, ought to be abolished. Agriculture,
like every other occupation, needs no protection save clearness and
security in its essential conditions of life.
ECONOMIC SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF THE COUNTRY
[The following account of this association and the more notable of
its achievements is obtained from Fernandez and Moreno's Manual del
viajero en Filipinas (Manila, 1875), pp. 173-178. This subject is
presented here as being so largely connected with the progress of
agriculture in Filipinas.]
Founded in the year 1781, in virtue of a royal order dated August
27 in the preceding year (issued in consequence of advices from the
excellent governor Don José Basco y Vargas), in 1787 it suspended
its meetings on account of the gradual and progressive decline of the
society. In 1819 it resumed its functions, but suffered a period of
discouragement and paralysis as a result of the Asiatic cholera morbus,
which appeared then for the first time in these islands; and until
October, 1822, the few meetings which the society held had no other
object than questions of internal order, having little interest or
importance for its history. [222] A memoir published by the society
with date of January 1, 1860, [223] makes the following statement:
"From that date (October 22, 1822), it can be said, begins the series
of the society's labors and services--achievements all the greater and
more valuable, inasmuch as they proceeded from slight and ephemeral
causes, and from a corporation which could not depend on material
resources even remotely proportioned to the magnitude of its object;
and which plunged into labors [which meant] nothing less than the
advancement and civilization of a virgin country, containing more
than 8,000 square leguas of surface, with 3,000,000 of inhabitants
still half-barbarous, and without stable or established mercantile
relations with any part of the world (on account of the recent
crisis in the privileged commerce, which bad just been abolished),
with a capital of 30,000 pesos, at 5,000 leguas distance from European
civilization, and with a government occupied besides with the political
situation and calamities of those days, confiding only in its patriotic
enthusiasm and in its desires for the aggrandizement and prosperity
of the country." In the above memoir are concisely recorded three
hundred forty-seven notable achievements, all beneficial to the
country, accomplished by that distinguished society in the space of
thirty-seven years. We would gladly reproduce entire in our modest
book the relation of services so important; as we cannot do this,
we indicate those which, in our judgment, are the more notable.
1823. February 1--Free distribution of one thousand three hundred
twenty copies of [books of] grammar, orthography, and reading-lessons,
for popular use. February 15--The society bestows a gold medal on
Don Doroteo Punzalan Estrella, for opening a channel which gave a
new and more convenient direction to the river of Tondo; and another
of silver on Don Agustin Campuzano and Pedro Antonio for other and
similar services rendered, to the benefit of the country. March
1--The society resolves to give two hundred fifty pesos annually to
endow in this island a chair of agriculture; and it appoints a prize
for the best memoir which should be written "on the causes which
hinder the development of the agriculture of the country." October
8--Translation and printing by the society of the book entitled,
Guide for the Lancasterian Mutual System of Education, [224] which
manual was distributed gratis, by decision adopted on March 9 of the
following year. December 2--Establishment of a school of drawing; the
first examinations for graduation from the said school took place April
9, 1828. The society resolves to send to India, on its own account, an
intelligent person to study the method of dyeing the cambaya fabrics;
and to order from North America three machines for hulling rice.
1824. March 9--Offering of prizes for the best pieces of cloth woven
in Filipinas in imitation of those from China, and for the most
successful experiments in dyes for cambayas; the prizes were awarded
on September 22 of the same year. September 22--It is agreed to pay
the cost of instructing eight Indians in the art of dyeing, in order
to extend this knowledge through the country; on October 6, 1825,
the first dyers from the society's school are examined and approved.
1826. February--Orders are given to reprint a manual presented by
Don José Montoya on the cultivation and preparation of indigo.
1827. April 24--Printing of a memoir on the cultivation of
coffee. October 30--The society votes the sum of eight hundred pesos
for aid of the hospital for the poor in this capital.
1828. November 26--The society orders the printing of a manual of
the elements of drawing.
1829. November 8--Machines for hulling rice are received, sent by
the Economic Society of Cádiz. December 13--The society supports the
government's project for establishing a bank in this capital.
1830. March 21--Reorganization of the Mercantile Register. [225]
1833. August 13--The society discusses and reports on the project of
cultivating the poppy and making opium in Filipinas.
1836. June 30--Voluntary donation of five hundred pesos in behalf of
the necessities of the State, on account of the war in España.
1837. June 27--The society awards a prize of one thousand pesos to Don
Pablo de Gironier [226] for what he had done in exhibiting a coffee
plantation of more than sixty thousand trees, in readiness for its
second crop.
1838. December 10--Another prize, of five hundred pesos, bestowed
on Don Vicente del Pino for a second coffee plantation of sixty
thousand trees.
1839. July 12--The society assigns the sum of one hundred fifty
pesos a month, for one year, to the publication of a periodical of
industries and commerce. [227] Information regarding the uncultivated
and crown lands of Filipinas is furnished by the society, by reason
of the royal decree of May 13, 1836.
1840. March 21--The sum of five hundred pesos awarded to Father
Blanco for the costs of printing and publishing the Flora filipina,
which bears his name.
1843. September 14--A prize is offered for the invention of a machine
for combing abacá [fiber].
1844. March 14--A memoir by the society on the cultivation of sugar
cane.
1845. August 22--An informatory report on the increase of population
and the necessity for protection to agriculture.
1846. September 22--Prizes of one thousand and 500 pesos to Don Iñigo
Gonzales Araola for two plantations of coffee, in accordance with
the conditions of the royal decree of April 6, 1838. The society
resolves to send young men from Filipinas to study mechanics in
foreign countries.
1847. February 3--A fifth prize, of five hundred pesos, to Don Antonio
Ortega for the cultivation of coffee. The society allots five hundred
pesos to the support of the university; and five hundred pesos for
the erection of nipa houses to aid the unfortunate [rendered homeless]
in the burning of the village of Santa Cruz. November 25--A proposal
for improving the construction of buildings in this capital; and
decision that the society build a house and afterward raffle it.
1849. October 10--The society votes one thousand pesos for a second
attempt to acclimate in these islands the martin, a bird which destroys
the locusts. On February 27, 1850, was added another allotment of
five hundred pesos; and on November 16, 1852, another of one thousand
three hundred eleven pesos, with the same end in view.
1850. August 16--Report is made in regard to a museum, and to
the provisional allowance of one thousand five hundred forty-seven
pesos to arrange that such museum be formed. The sum of five hundred
pesos is voted, to be spent for specimens of articles representing
the industries of the country, so that these can be exhibited at
the London Exposition; in consequence of this exhibit, the society
receives (April 12, 1853) from the Universal Exposition of London
a prize for the specimens that were sent there of fabrics woven from
vegetable fiber, and a special prize for the weaving of the cigar-cases
[petacas] of Baliuag. [228] On May 13, 1858, it receives from London
a new medal as a prize for articles from Filipinas.
1852. November 16--Systematic report on the opening of more ports to
the external commerce of Filipinas; on June 15, 1855, the society
congratulates the government on the establishment of the ports of
Iloilo, Sual, and Zamboanga.
1853. April 12--Prize of two thousand pesos and honor of a medal
awarded to Don Cándido Lopez Diaz for the invention of a machine
for cleaning the abacá. November 15--The sum of one hundred pesos is
voted to the subscription for the necessities of Galicia.
1854. March 17--Contribution of five hundred pesos for aiding the
necessities of the village of Tondo, in consequence of the fire which
occurred there some time before that date.
1855. January 9--The society offers the government twenty per cent of
its capital, without interest, for the improvement of the construction
of public buildings; on July 23, 1857, money is paid out for public
works. May 18--Gives information on the importance to the country of
the government being favorable to the free exportation of rice. August
26--Project for instituting a school for small children. October
3--Distribution of elementary books provided by the society, treating
of the cultivation of coffee, the preparation of indigo, and the
principles of drawing.
1856. March 4--Report in regard to sending young men to Europe,
in order that they may devote themselves to mechanical studies.
1856 [misprint for 1857?]. July 27--Votes a grant of one thousand
pesos to purchase objects for the museum and preserve them with those
already therein. December 12--Consideration of matters relating to
a company for [operating] steamboats. [229]
1858. September 6--Scheme for rendering uniform the weights and
measures of Filipinas. November 15--Consideration of two crops of
rice in Filipinas, and report favorable thereto by Señor Govantes
(a member), who furnished information on the mode of improving and
making dikes without any cost or difficulty.
In this interesting account of meritorious deeds we have omitted,
in order not to make it too long, the numerous reports sent out
by the society for draining marshes, loans of money for promoting
agriculture and the mechanic arts, rewards to literary works, etc. We
should state that at present [in 1875] the society holds the meetings
provided for in its by-laws; and that each member, in order to defray
in part the expenses of the corporation, contributes annually twelve
pesos from his own funds. We do not doubt that it will continue its
vigilant efforts, in order to realize, as far as possible its motto,
"Public felicity." The chronological record of its resolutions
from 1822 to 1860 also forms a memorial of the progress which has
been made in this country in agriculture and industries; [230] and,
although it is not strictly proper for this place, we set down here,
in continuation, some data referring to the said acts, for the purpose
of bringing together in this section of our work all the activities
in which the said Economic Society has exerted an influence.
1822. November 25--Woolen cloth [paño] woven, the first in Filipinas,
by one of its members, Don Santiago Herreros.
1823. July 18--First cards for wool made in Filipinas, by a member of
the corporation, Fray Diego Cera. It sends to China a plant and some
seeds of the vanilla of the country. The existence of cerpentaria
[sic] is recognized, a plant equally valuable with xiquilite [231]
for the production of indigo. On April 24, 1827, report was made
of a record of experiments made for extracting from the said plants
the fecula [i.e., coloring matter] of the indigo; and on September
5, 1828, a botanical description was furnished of the cerpentaria,
and an analysis of the fecula which it produces. September 4--Seed
of the sugar cane of Filipinas is sent to Habana, and that of rice
(or palay) to the Economic Society of Sevilla.
1824. September 2--The first permanent dyes for cotton and
nipis. October 19--Wool, silk, and shellac [goma laca] are produced
in Cebú.
1825. April 2--First report of the society on the establishment of
a paper-mill; the second report on the same subject was issued on
March 14, 1835.
1826. February 11--Spinning machinery is ordered from the United
States. June 13--The first of the goods called "Coast" cambayas and
kerchiefs, [but] of inferior quality, are woven and dyed, through
the influence of the corporation. December 9--The cochineal insect
is brought into these islands.
1827. April 24--Importation of a horse and two mares of superior
blood, presented to the society in order to improve the breed in
these islands.
1828. November 26--Information regarding the pine, the torch-wood
[tea] of northern Luzon, and of a plant which produces a blue dye
like the indigo.
1834. February 24--Reports for the acclimation of tea in Filipinas; the
first trial of this cultivation was undertaken on August 14, 1837, and
five hundred plants ordered from Batavia. August 8--Abacá is exported
for the first time. December 12--Information upon the existence of
mineral coal in Cebú, Surigao Angat, and Monte de San Mateo.
1835. March 14--Information collected regarding the silk industry
in Caraga, various kinds of fiber for cordage (including one which
appears suitable for replacing hemp), a bark suitable for dyeing black,
and the discovery of a copper mine in Masbate. September 15--First
sowing of abacá in Laguna; on March 19, 1837, the first specimens of
the said product are presented.
1836. April 23--Machines for hulling rice by steam power, and on a
large scale, introduced by Don Eulogio de Otaduy. Cottonseed sown in
Antique, using seed from Pernambuco.
1839. July 12--Caldrons [made] of red copper from the mountains
of Pangasinan.
1841. January 29--Propagation here of the cotton from North America
known by the name of "[Sea] Island;" and request for seeds is sent
to the United States.
1843. March 14--Importation of a steam machine for extracting the
fiber of [para acorchar] abacá.
1848. June 14--Inquiry into the existence in the country of the white
poppy from which the opium is extracted. (On April 20, 1849, the
society issues a very explicit report on the cultivation of the said
plant and the preparation of opium [232] in Filipinas.) December 22--A
note regarding gutta percha and gamboge, by Don Jacobo Zobel, a member.
1849. April 30--Acquisition and planting of eleven roots of the
tallow-tree, [233] at the country-house of Malacañan.
1850. November 4--Introduction of new apparatus and methods proposed
by Señor Sagra for the manufacture of sugar. Report on the promotion
of abacá culture.
1851. May 5--Memoir on clays in the environs of this capital,
and their application in the art of pottery. Wild cha [i.e., tea]
found in abundance in the island of Masbate. July 18--Report on the
exportation of rice.
1854. August 29--Appointment of a commission to report to the society
upon the present state of agriculture in the country, and obstacles
which must be removed for its complete development.
1855. January 9--Gutta-percha found in Romblon. [234] July 28--The
society grants a gold medal to Don Juan B. Marcaido for his efforts
and studies in the method of extracting the abacá fiber from all the
species of bananas which grow in the country.
1856. March 4--Communications referring to the method of securing the
[edible] birds'-nests in Calamianes.
1857. October 1--Presentation of specimens of soaps made in the
country.
1858. April 19--Knowledge of a gum called conchú found in
Marianas. August 15--Information given by Señor Barbaza, a member,
relative to a hundred kinds of rice in Visayas.
1859. May 10--Project regarding agriculture and commerce.
(We have endeavored to make note of the important activities in which
the said society has taken the initiative or has shared since 1860,
up to the date of the printing of the Manual; and here is the result
of our investigations.)
1860. February 11--The society makes a subscription of five thousand
pesos to defray, in part, the expenses of the African war.
1861. October 8--The society votes to contribute two thousand pesos
from its funds for the expenses of sending articles from Filipinas
to the London exposition. Efforts are made to acclimate in Filipinas
the cochineal insect.
1862. March 8--It decides to give a prize to the cotton-grower
who produces most. May 26--Full report by the society in favor
of the establishment of a school of agriculture, theoretical and
practical. Report on conducting water to the capital. [235] September
30--The society resolves to obtain seed of cotton from Egypt, to
distribute it among the farmers. October 30--The society receives
official notice of the prizes awarded to the Philippine exhibitors
in the London exposition.
1863. May 23--A specimen of spirits of turpentine is presented to the
society, having a strength of 37° by Cartier's areometer, obtained
from the trees of the country; a prize is granted to the person who
prepared it. October 27--The society subscribes five hundred pesos
to relieve the necessities of the artisans and laborers who suffered
in the earthquake of June 3.
1864. July 8--Full report regarding the rebate of import duties on
wheat flour.
1865. July 17--The society votes three gold medals and five of silver,
and five prizes of one hundred pesos each, for the owners of new houses
which may be built, which in the greatest degree shall combine the
requirements of solidity and economy, and in which no nipa shall be
used. October 31--Full report on the establishment of a quarantine
station in the bay of Manila. The society resolves to contribute a
sum monthly for the promotion of the botanical garden, a practical
school of botany. [236]
1866. December 22--The society votes seven prizes in money for the
best exhibitors, in the fair at Batangas: for cows with their calves,
for the two finest female carabaos [caraballas] with their calves; for
the two finest mares with their colts; to the female weaver who shall
present [specimens of] the best ordinary fabrics of cotton or abacá
for common use in the garments of the people; for the best fabrics of
silk; for rewarding makers of hats or petacas; and for the horse-races.
1867. October 30--The society resolves to spend five hundred pesos in
purchasing plows, spades, and other farming implements, to distribute
them among the farmers of Ilocos and Abra who may have suffered the
greatest losses in consequence of a terrible inundation.
1868. July 11--The society decides to reward, with a gold and a silver
medal, the authors of the best two memoirs which shall be presented
proposing "the means which the government and the society can employ
to secure the development of agriculture in the country." October
16--Motion for the establishment of a savings bank and public loan
office.
1871. December 11--A gold medal is granted to Don Santiago Patero
for the memoir presented to the society by that gentleman upon the
cultivation of coffee and cacao, besides the printing of five thousand
copies of the said treatise in order that it may be brought to the
knowledge of the farmers.
1874. Project for an annual fair and exposition at Manila. A study
of the mutual use of bills of exchange in Filipinas. Preparation of
a memoir on the cultivation and manufacture of sugar; and others on
the trade in coffee and cacao, and the abacá industry. Appointment
of a commission for studying the project for establishment of an
agricultural bank.
[The limitations of our available space compel us to omit any detailed
account of agriculture in the islands; we have chosen to present,
in the preceding papers, a view of agricultural conditions at two
different periods--in Basco's decree, 1784; and in Jagor's account,
1866--with an outline of the efforts and achievements of the Economic
Society from 1781 to 1874 (which aimed to develop the agricultural
resources of the country and with these its manufactures and commerce),
and references to the leading authorities on this subject, most of
these works being easy of access for the student and thus rendering
unnecessary our further use of them in this series. These references
here follow: Comyn, Estado, pp. 6-21, and chart ii at end; Mas,
Informe, ii, section on agriculture (47 pp.); Mallat, Les Philippines,
ii, pp. 255-282; Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, pp. 169-206; Jagor,
Reisen, in various places; Montero y Vidal, Archipiélago filipino,
pp. 204-216; Worcester, Philippine Islands, pp. 503-510--and, for
description of native methods, [237] his "Non-Christian Tribes of
Northern Luzon," in Phil. Journal of Science, October, 1906; the
Annual Reports of U. S. Philippine Commission; Official Handbook of
Philippines, pp. 99-118; Census of the Philippines, iv, pp. 11-394
(including detailed and classified statistics of the subject for the
year 1903); and the Farmers' Bulletins published by the Insular Bureau
of Agriculture, Manila. Cf. also the chapters on agriculture, titles
to land, and agricultural products, in "Remarks by an Englishman"
and Bernaldez's "Memorial," in VOL. LI; the section on agriculture
in LeRoy's contribution to the present volume; and titles of works on
these subjects which are enumerated in Griffin's List of Books on the
Philippines, Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca filipina, Vindel's Catálogo
biblioteca filipina, and Retana's Aparato bibliográfico de Filipinas
(Madrid, 1906).]
ERRATA AND ADDENDA TO VOLUMES I-LII
VOLUME I
P. 91, lines 1-3: This is not correctly stated; see p. 30, last
sentence in first paragraph.
P. 130, middle: Navarrete, cited; "edition 1858" should read "edition
1859."
P. 185, last paragraph: The following information is furnished by
the courtesy of Prof. Winslow Upton, director of Ladd Observatory,
Brown University: "The first and second methods enumerated in this
quotation refer to that now known as the Method by Lunar Distances,
which was already in use in the sixteenth century. In the former the
position of the moon was to be determined by its measured distance from
some star, in the latter from the sun. Since risings and settings at an
assumed horizon are specified, it is probable that the distance between
moon and sun was determined by the time interval of their respective
risings and settings. The fourth method is that still known by the same
name. The statement of the third method is obscure. It may mean that
the longitude was to be found by a measured distance on the surface
of the earth from a station whose longitude was already known. This
distance could be turned into difference of longitude if the length
corresponding to a degree of longitude in that latitude were first
determined. This method is used today in geodetic operations."
P. 218, note 184: The India House of Trade (Casa de Contratación) was
created by a decree of Isabel of Castilla (January 14, 1503) as both a
commercial board and a tribunal; and it partly replaced the admiralty
court which had been established in Sevilla since the thirteenth
century, the quarters of the latter (in the old Alcázar) being
assigned to the India House when the latter was first organized. The
powers of the India House increased greatly in the course of time,
and it was subordinate to no council save that of the Indias; in
1583 a chamber of justice was added to it. This institution was, by a
decree of 1717, removed in the following year to Cádiz. An interesting
study on the India House is found in Los trabajos geográficos de
la Casa de Contratación (Sevilla, 1900), by Manuel de la Puente y
Olea. This work--prepared by careful examination of the documents in
the archives--is devoted to the early voyages of discovery that were
undertaken under the auspices of the India House and its navigators,
ending with that of Loaysa (1525); the geographical studies made by
its cosmographers, and other scientific researches connected with
its enterprises; and the enrichment of the fauna and flora of the
New World due to the conveyance thither of useful plants, fruits,
and animals through the agency of the House. See also the detailed
account of this institution, its organization, policy, and methods,
by Bernard Moses, in Annual Report of American Historical Association,
1894, pp. 93-123: a large part of that paper also appears in his
Establishment of Spanish Rule in America (N. Y., 1898), chap. iii.
P. 275, note 201: For "inflicted" read "afflicted."
P. 282, note 202: "During the process of exploration and settlement,
authority in America rested in the hands of leaders of expeditions
and colonies, who usually bore the title of adelantado. This was the
title formerly applied in Spain to the military and political governor
of a frontier province. Standing face to face with the Moors, he held
the general military command of the province, and had power to gather
the people under his standard. In his capacity as a civil officer,
he took cognizance of such civil and criminal cases as arose within
the limits of his territory. [Santamaria de Paredes, in Derecho
politico, p. 487, has described the adelantados as 'governors of
great territories, with a character chiefly military.']" (Moses,
Spanish Rule in America, p. 68.)
P. 297, note 205: For "Strait of Magellan" read "La Plata River."
P. 300, in address of letter: For "Cel." read "Ces." Line 2 from
end: For "Avises" read "Avisos." The endorsement should read thus:
["De cochin a 23 de Dic. de 1522." "A su mag xxjx de agosto."] For
dates of these letters see data thereon in the bibliographical volume
(LIII) of this series.
VOLUME II
P. 73, end of paragraph: For detailed account of early expeditions
previous to that of Legazpi, see the Historia general of Fray
Rodrígo de Aganduru Moriz, published in Doc. ined. hist. de España,
tom. lxxviii and lxxix (Madrid, 1882).
P. 75: To list of translators add, "the ninth, by Francis W. Snow."
P. 79, line 9: For "secular" read "layman."
P. 83, line 16: For "Lepuzcua" read "Guipuzcoa."
P. 84, line 4 from end: For "buttock-timbers" read "futtock-timbers."
P. 115, line 9: For "Panay" read "Panaon."
P. 126, line 12 (and in many similar cases): The word "painted" is
the literal translation of the Spanish pintado, and here refers to
the custom of tattooing the body.
P. 129, near end: The "lofty volcanoes" may have been Canlaon and
Magasú, in Negros Oriental.
P. 167, line 7 from end: For "novelty" read "innovations."
P. 173, note 84: Evidently "Pito" was in the original "Pito," for
"Polito;" the man being actually "[Hy] polito the drummer."
P. 192, paragraph 4: "S. S." stands for "Señores," meaning the native
grandees of those countries.
P. 193, middle: For "cloths" read "canvas."
P. 194, line 2 from end: After "fifty" add "thousand."
P. 197, line 1: Bancroft (Hist. Mexico, ii, p. 600) says that Arellano
tried to secure the reward offered for discovering the return route
from the Spice Islands.
P. 220, line 8 in heading: For "PRONE-" read "PROUE-."
P. 231, end of text: This letter was probably written by some one
belonging to Arellano's ship, or who obtained his information from
that captain's followers.
P. 237, middle: For "officers" read "artisans."
P. 276, line 5: For "by" read "with."
P. 297, last line: The viceroy's name should be Luis de Velasco.
P. 332, paragraph 2: For "leg. 1, 23" read "leg. 1/23."
VOLUME III
P. 29, lines 1-7: "The intimate relation between the king and his
American dominions necessitated a regular organized system of postal
communication. As early as 1514, by a royal warrant, Dr. Galindez
de Carvajal was made postmaster of the Indies, and by a subsequent
order of the Council of the Indies, issued in 1524, all persons
were restrained from interfering with him in the dispatch of messages
concerning the affairs of the Indies. The lines of this service covered
the distance between Seville and the other ports, and Madrid, as well
as the distances between Spain and America. The postmaster of the
Indies was an officer of the India House.... Rigorous laws enjoined
all persons from intercepting and opening letters and packets. Of
the amount paid for this service the postmaster was allowed one tenth
part." (Moses, Spanish Rule in America, pp. 64, 65.)
P. 33, note 1: For "Spain" read "Nueva España."
P. 77, middle: Agias, probably meaning the clusters of fruit on the
variety of pepper which is called aji (or agi) in America.
P. 113, line 3: For "seventy" read "sixty-eight."
P. 118, line 5 from end: For "twenty-eight" read "eighteenth."
P. 223, note 73: For "pp. 108-112" read "pp. 54-61."
VOLUME IV
Pp. 46 and 47: These are transposed in the "make-up."
P. 68, note 6: See Worcester's interesting account of the Tinguians
in his "Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon," p. 860; he praises
their abilities, industry, eagerness to learn, and excellent traits
of character, and their relatively high degree of civilization,
as compared with that of their neighbors.
P. 131, note 14, line 3 from end: Regarding Batachina, see VOL. XXVII,
p. 105, note 39.
P. 139, line 3 under "Sources:" for "original MS. documents" read
"MS. copies."
P. 150, line 4 from end of text: Delete "[caliph?]."
P. 166: By an error in the "make-up" the last five lines on the page
are misplaced; they belong at the top.
P. 205, line 9 from end: For "Pablo" read "Pedro." The same correction
should be made on p. 247, line 13 from end.
P. 284, line 9: For "up" read "above." Note 38: The chief early
authority on the islands of Mindanao and Joló, with their people,
is Combés's Hist. de Mindanao y Joló, which has been used frequently
in this series. His descriptions of the latter are thus located in
his book: the tribes, cols. 27-44; their boats and weapons, 70-76;
their customs, 61-70; their character, laws, and government, 49-61;
their sects and superstitions, 44-48. Another excellent authority is
Forrest, whose Voyage contains much valuable information. The best
account of the history and culture of the people is that given by
N. M. Saleeby, in his "Studies in Moro Law, History, and Religion,"
already cited by us. Cf. also late U. S. government publications on
the islands, in which there is much matter regarding the Moro tribes.
P. 289, last line: For "an" read "on."
P. 320, line 2 from end: For "forty MSS." read "forty-one MS."
VOLUME V
P. 31, line 2 from end of text: For "and two priests" read "two of
them priests." ("Theatins" is here used for "Jesuits," as explained
in VOL. XIX, p. 64.)
P. 39: Cf. the statistics of population, throughout Loarca's Relación,
with those in "Account of Encomiendas," VOL. VIII, pp. 96-141; also
in U. S. Census of Philippines, 1903, ii, pp. 123-209.
P. 41, lines 22, 23: For "On the other side of the above-mentioned
native communities" read "Besides the above-mentioned natives, there
is"--and, in fifth line below, omit "is" before "a village." In last
line, for "village" read "Spanish settlement."
P. 43, line 1: This should read "There are more than thirty
encomenderos." End of line 7: For "treasury," read "revenue."
P. 49, line 6: For "other" read "except two of the."
P. 51, line 4: For "Cavigava" read "Carigara." Line 2 of paragraph
on Panaon: For "lies" read "lie respectively." In next paragraph:
For "built around" read "located along."
P. 55, line 4: For "well-disposed" read "shrewd traders."
P. 57, line 1: For "seen" read "discovered."
P. 61, paragraph on tree-dwellings: For "in each one a house is
built which can contain" read "in one house at the top of a tree
live;" and after "fortress" insert "for defense." End of this page,
and line 1 of p. 63: For "formerly did much harm to the natives" read
"the natives of this island have done them much harm;" and for "making"
(line 2) read "the ships make."
P. 63, paragraph on Mindanao: For words after end of bracketed clause,
read "but it is not necessary on this account to seize all that is
discovered in the island of Mindanao."
P. 65, line 2 from end: This is a line of type set in here by mistake;
for it read "belongs to an encomendero in the."
P. 69, lines 11 and 12 from end: For "from the cases which are brought
before the law for settlement" read "from other commissions which
are entrusted to the magistrate."
P. 71, line 12 from top of page: After dash insert "and."
P. 73, line 13: For "cocoa-beans" read "cacao-beans." In next
paragraph: For "mats--the latter from rushes" read "petates, which
are mats."
P. 75, paragraph on Buracay: The last sentence is incorrect; the
second clause should read "no rice is cultivated there, but they have
a source of income in some goats."
P. 77, line 11: For "wheat and produce" read "grain and collect." Line
4 from end: omit "larger."
P. 79, line 8 from end: For "righting" read "cleaning;" adreçar in
the text is evidently a phonetic rendering of aderezar.
P. 83, line 4: For "monks" read "friars."
P. 95, line 8 from end: For "dependencies" read "lands belonging
to it."
P. 113, line 2 from end: For "returning from" read "in the direction
of."
P. 117, line 4: For "no" read "hardly any."
P. 118, line 8: For "ouo" read "uno."
P. 125, line 8 from end of text: For "Inheritances" read "Maganitos;"
this refers to the superstitious ceremony described on p. 131,
near middle.
P. 187: The sentence after Loarca's signature should read, "He was one
of the first who came to these islands, and is greatly interested in
these matters; and therefore I consider this a reliable and accurate
account"--apparently an indorsement of the "Relation," by Governor
Peñalosa.
P. 189, last paragraph: For "Amanicaldo" read "Amanicalao;" for
"Luanbacar," "Tuanbacar;" for "Capaymisilo," "Capa and Misilo."
P. 201, note: For "Sevillano" read "of Sevilla."
P. 222, line 2: In regard to the cruelty displayed by the Spaniards
to the Indians, see George E. Ellis's "Las Casas, and the relations
of the Spaniards to the Indians," in Winsor's Narrative and Critical
History of America, ii, pp. 299-348. Cf. Karl Häbler's remarks in
Helmolt's History of the World (N. Y., 1902), i, pp. 390-396.
P. 239, lines 8 and 9: By a printer's mistake, a line of "dead" type
was inserted instead of the one which belongs here; for "volves"
to "will" inclusive read "if it is managed in this manner. Let your
Majesty."
P. 249, line 11 from end: For "will" read "should."
P. 257, section 2: For "lay" read "secular" (it refers to the municipal
council of Manila).
P. 258, note 37. On this subject, consult the magnificent work of
Henry C. Lea, History of the Inquisition in Spain (N. Y., 1906-07),
the only full and scholarly account thus far given, and based on
extensive researches in the Spanish archives. He discusses the origin
and establishment of that institution, its relations with the State,
its jurisdiction, organization, resources, practice, punishments,
spheres of action, etc.
P. 263, lines 9, 10, 13: For "from" read "in regard to." Note 38:
Concepción states (Hist. de Philipinas, ix, p. 204) that the public
sentence of anathema against those who were contumacious to the edicts
of the Inquisition, whether for heresies or sins--a sentence which that
tribunal commanded to be read every three years--had been pronounced
only twice up to his time (1790). This was done by the Augustinian
commissary Pater-nina, in 1659; and by the Dominican commissary Juan
de Arechederra, in 1718.
P. 265, near middle: For "prudence" read "conduct."
P. 280, section 14: For "report to" read "take residencia of."
P. 286, line 6--also p. 287, last line of section 35: For "except" read
"even." P. 287, section 37, line 1: For "inability" read "disability."
P. 289, near middle: For "remit" read "refer." Line 4: For "buildings"
read "works."
P. 291, line 5: For "machinery" read "industries."
P. 293, section 56, lines 4 and 5: instead of "bishops," etc., read
"bishop for the clergy whom we present to benefices."
P. 299, section 74: For "caciquedoms for" read "authority as chiefs
on account of;" and for "milreis," "maravedis."
P. 305, section 103: For "when they exact" read "that they may exact."
P. 307, section 113: For "receive" read "levy." For "superintendents"
read "tax-collectors;" calpiste means "the steward or collector whom
the encomenderos stationed in the Indian villages," and calpisque
"the collector of the taxes or tributes which belong to the lord of
the village" (Dominguez, supplement). Section 114, lines 1 and 2: For
"granted in encomiendas by" read "allotted in." Section 121, line 1:
This should read, "The registers must be examined and marked with
a signet."
VOLUME VI
P. 78, note 18: Omit words in parentheses. The Portuguese form of
the name, Macao, ends in a nasalized sound, unsuited to the Spanish
tongue; the Spaniards represent this by calling it Macan; and Macati
is apparently only a transcriber's error.
P. 241, line 2: For "written" read "received." Line 3: For "for" read
"from."
VOLUME VII
P. 39, note 5: This name should be Bay, instead of Bombon.
P. 154, middle: For "river Madre" read "the waters of the river."
P. 167, line 8 from end: Delete "[Siam]."
P. 174, lines 7-9: The sentence between dashes is evidently an
interpolation by the editor of Santa Inés's Cronica (to which this
account by Plasencia is appended), and referring to the preliminary
ten chapters of that work, which furnish a description of the islands
and their people.
P. 194, line 1: "In almost every large village [he is speaking of
Samar and Leyte] there are one or more families of Asuáns, who are
universally feared and avoided, and treated as outcasts, and who can
marry only among their own number; they have the reputation of being
cannibals. Are they perhaps descended from men-eaters? The belief
is very general and deeply rooted. When questioned about this,
old and intelligent Indians answered that certainly they did not
believe that the Asuáns now ate human flesh, but their forefathers
had without doubt done this." "Cannibals, properly speaking, in the
Philippines were not mentioned by the early writers. Pigafetta had
heard that on a river at Cape Benuian (the northern point of Mindanao)
a people lived who cut out only the heart of a captured foe, and
ate it with lemon-juice. Dr. Semper (Philippinen, p. 62) found the
same practice, except the use of lemon-juice, on the eastern coast
of Mindanao." (Jagor, Reisen, p. 236.)
P. 197, line 4: For "Felipe II" read "Council of Indias."
P. 207, note 32: After "king" add "or the fiscal."
P. 222, note 34: At beginning of line 5 insert "Ceylon, erroneously
applied by some early writers to."
P. 224, line 13: More definitely located by the editor of Reseña
biográfica (i, p. 114), who says, "It was in the place that is now
called Arroceros [i.e., "the rice-market"]. (Note.) It was a great
quadrangle of porticos which enclosed a spacious lagoon; the latter
communicated with the Pasig river, and thus facilitated the entrance
of the Chinese champans."
P. 276, last line: Insert, before "the first conclusion," the words,
"It is taken for granted that, of the encomiendas of these islands,
some have instruction and some are without it."
VOLUME VIII
P. 27, middle: The date of Dasmariñas's letter should be February 28.
P. 84, line 1: For "Cubao" read "Lubao."
P. 121, last line: For "Aguette" read "Aguetet."
Pp. 127, 133: See VOL. XXII, pp. 77, 103, where Fernando de Silva
asks that his wife's encomiendas may be confirmed to her; she was the
daughter of Doña Lucía de Loarca, and must have been the granddaughter
of the conquistador Miguel de Loarca. Cf. VOL. xxiii, p. 80.
P. 263, line 5 from end: This name should be Basil Hall Chamberlain.
VOLUME IX
P. 13, line 10 from end: For "he" read "Dasmariñas."
P. 26, note 3: "Mengoya (or Nagoya), as mentioned in the text, was in
Hizen province, Kyushu Island; the Nagoya in Owari was not in existence
in Hideyoshi's time." [Letter to the Editors from Prof. J. K. Goodrich,
of Imperial College, Tokio.]
P. 68, note 13: The following interesting account of the earlier
imprints in Filipinas is cited (in Vindel's Catálogo, iii, no. 2631),
from a book written by the Dominican Fray Alonso Fernández. Historia
de los insignes milagros que la Magestad divina ha obrado por el
Rosario de la Virgen soberana, su Madre, desde el tiempo de Santo
Domingo hasta 1612 (Madrid, 1613), fol. 216, 217:
"Of some writers of the Order of St. Dominic who were living in this
year of 1612.
"In the Tagal language of Filipinas: Fray Francisco de San Joseph of
the convent of Madre de Dios at Alcalá, who is living in the province
of Nuestra Señora del Rosario of Filipinas, has printed at Batán, in
the Tagal language of Filipinas, a 'Book of our Lady of the Rosary;'
also another book, in the same language, which treats of the holy
sacraments of the Church; the natives of the islands have been greatly
benefited by these books.
"In the Chinese language: Fray Domingo de Nieva, of the convent at
Valladolid, who serves in the province of Filipinas, has printed at
Batán, in the Chinese language and likewise in the characters used
by that people, a 'Memorial of the Christian life.' Fray Tomas Mayor,
of the convent at Játiva, who serves in the province of Nuestra Señora
del Rosario of Filipinas and Japón, printed at Batán, in the country
of Filipinas, in the Chinese language and with Chinese characters,
a 'Symbol of the Faith.'" ("None of the bibliographers of Philippine
literature have mentioned this curious and interesting passage.")
In Imprenta en Filipinas, cols. 5-14, 77, Retana argues (and apparently
on good grounds) that the printing of the Doctrina in 1593 was
xylographic, not typographic.
P. 77, line 3: After "friend" add "and I have had an embassy from him."
P. 153, line 1: In the Bibliográfia mexicana of García Icazbalceta
the statement was made that Bishop Agurto "founded at Zebú a hospital
for sick persons of all nations and creeds, with such liberality
that he gave up to it even his own bed, having been obliged to ask
that another be lent to him at the hospital itself, on which he might
sleep that night." (Vindel, Catálogo, no. 1462.)
P. 164, note 26: After "Sanscrit" add "Sri Ayuddhya." At end, add
the following: "See plan of Juthia in Bellin's Atlas maritime, iii,
no. 51. It became the capital of Siam in 1350, and was destroyed by
the Burmese in 1767. (The Siamese proper are the Thai--a word which
probably means 'freemen'--who are a superior race.) This statement
is made by O. Frankfurter, of the Siamese Foreign Office, in
A. C. Carter's Kingdom of Siam (N. Y. and London, 1904), pp. 81, 82."
P. 190, middle: In line 17, a better reading would be "front" for
"face," apparently meaning the breast of the horse; and in next line
omit "[a frontal]."
P. 299, line 5: For "Ryos, a colonel" read "Ryos Coronel." (A similar
correction should be made on p. 313, line 5.) See sketch of Rios
Coronel, and description of his Memorial, by Retana in Vindel's
Catálogo biblioteca filipina, pp. 349-354; he went to Filipinas in
1588, returned to Spain in 1605, and afterwards was in the islands
from 1611 to 1618.
P. 305, last line of description of map: After "Indias" insert
"(est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 18)." See description in Torres Lanzas's
Relación de los mapas de Filipinas. Retana calls this the earliest
map of Luzón.
P. 327, section 1: The order of the two pressmarks here given should
be reversed.
VOLUME X
P. 47, last line: For "soldiers" read "Sangleys."
P. 65, line 8: For "Lanao" read "Liguasan."
P. 131, end: This document was probably written by Luis Perez
Dasmariñas.
P. 218, line 13: For "false musters" read "fictitious offices."
P. 275, middle: For "twelfth" read "tenth."
VOLUME XI
P. 138: See Torrubia's account of the abandonment of La Caldera in
1599, and of the unusually large expeditions immediately afterward
by the Moros against Panay (Dissertación, pp. 10-17).
P. 152, line 8: For "Domingo de Rramos" read "on Palm Sunday."
P. 221, line 2 from end: The Italian version of Vaez's letter makes
this number "twenty-nine thousand" only.
P. 270, middle: For "Babao" read "Ybabao."
P. 288, end: Add "Signed by the Council."
VOLUME XII
P. 109, note 20, and p. 120, note 24: For explanation of this use of
"Theatin" see VOL. XIX, p. 64.
P. 131, paragraph 2, line 3: For "him" read "you."
P. 165, middle: For "Rajaniora" read "Rajamora."
P. 179, last line of note: For "Herrara" read "Herrera."
P. 182, line 4 from end of note: Before "Tabacos" insert "de."
P. 205, note: For "Paro" read "Jaro."
Pp. 209-216: For "lagoon" read "lake"--the reference being to the
lake of Bay.
P. 219, middle: Tigbao is the Visayan name of two different kinds
of grass, Anthistiria gigantea and Heteropogon contortus (Merrill,
Dictionary of Plant Names).
P. 255, line 10 from end: For "stamped" read "printed."
P. 256, line 9: For "lagoon" read "lake."
P. 323, line 8: After "therein" add "(as also in Castro's 'Points,'
pp. 70-72)."
VOLUME XIII
P. 68, line 10: For "cane" read "bamboo."
P. 96, line 6 from end of text: The hard polished outer surface of the
bamboo joint is also often used for writing; some interesting specimens
of this sort are in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago.
P. 248, line 8 from end: For "third" read "second."
P. 257, note, line 2 from end: For "Spain" read "Nueva España."
VOLUME XIV
P. 37, middle: Add to list of signatures "The licentiate Andres
de Alcaraz."
P. 143, middle: The ordinary naval ration furnished on the royal ships
which plied between Manila and Acapulco was prescribed as follows in
Arandía's Ordenanzas de Marina (Manila, 1757), p. 61: "On days when
meat is eaten--Biscuit, 18 onzas; jerked beef, 6 onzas; fried pork,
3 onzas; salt, 1/2 onza; vinegar, for ten persons, 1/4 onza; firewood,
2 libras. On days when fish is prescribed--Biscuit, 18 onzas; pottage
or soup of vegetables [miniestras], 3 onzas; pork fat [manteca],
1 onza; salt fish, 6 onzas; salt, vinegar, and firewood, as on the
other days. For each ration, four quartillos [about 2 1-6 quarts]
are reckoned--one for cooking the ration, and three for drinking."
P. 197, line 3: For "Biebengud" read "Bienbengud."
P. 209, break in middle: To this place transfer the endorsement at
end of p. 213.
P. 280, line 4 from end: For "July 29" read "July 25." The same
correction should be made on p. 6, line 8 from end; p. 241, line 7.
VOLUME XV
P. 179, lines 6 and 7 from end of text: For "from Camanguian" read
"of camanguian [i.e., storax]."
VOLUME XVI
P. 30, note 3: Mazamune sent one of his nobles as ambassador, Felipe
Francisco Taxicura, in company with Sotelo; see relations printed at
Sevilla (1614) and Roma (1615). (Vindel, Catálogo, iii, p. 205.)
P. 112, note 129, middle: Worcester says ("Non-Christian Tribes
of N. Luzon," in Phil. Journal of Science, October, 1906, p. 807):
"The Negritos do not tattoo themselves, but do ornament themselves
with scar-patterns, produced by making cuts through the skin with
slivers of bamboo (Plate xxiii, fig. 1). Into these cuts, which are
arranged with more or less geometric symmetry, dirt is rubbed to
cause them to become infected and to produce large scars."
P. 160, note, line 7 from end: For "in regard to" read "by."
P. 178, note 233: This explanation is erroneously applied by Stanley,
as the piña is a Philippine fabric, and not Chinese. The reference
in the text is to the cloth made from "China-grass" (Bohmeria nivea),
on which see VOLS. XXII, p. 279, and XLIV, p. 267.
P. 180, note 235: Jagor (Reisen, p. 315) thinks that the chiquey
is the same as the lei-tschi or lechía (on which see VOL. XXXVIII,
p. 21); the latter was called Euphoria by Blanco, but is now known
as Nephelium litchi.
P. 201: The name of the Ladrones Islands was in 1668 changed by the
missionary San Vítores to Marianas, in honor of Mariana, queen of
Felipe IV. The group contains 17 islands, which--excepting Guam,
the largest--belong to Germany, or, as it is called, "the German
New Guinea Protectorate," having been transferred to that power
by Spain in 1899, together with the Carolinas and Palaos, for
25,000,000 pesetas. The original inhabitants (a Polynesian people)
are known as Chamorros; but in later years a large Filipino element
(soldiers and others) has mingled with them, and the people show a
preponderance of the Filipino type. In 1898 the population of the
group, exclusive of Guam (which contained about 9,000 people), was
1,938. Little was done for them by the Spaniards until 1668, when
a Jesuit mission went to the Marianas under the direction of Diego
Luis San Vítores. The attempts of the privileged class of natives
to keep the new faith from the common people resulted in the loss of
prestige by the former, conflict between the two classes, and martyrdom
for some of the Jesuits--San Vítores meeting death thus on April 2,
1672. Nevertheless the missions made progress, and a few years later
the Jesuits counted eight churches, three colleges, and over 50,000
converts (Crétineau-Joly, v, pp. 30-22). The military conquest of
the islands by Spain was accomplished during the years 1676-98; and
they were occupied from that time by a governor and a small force
of troops. In 1828 a new plan for the government of these islands
was formed at Madrid, by which the royal estates were suppressed,
and the lands divided among the natives, who were also provided with
cattle and tools at low rates; the governors were forbidden to trade,
industries and commerce were declared open to the natives, and free
ports were named. In 1855 Felipe de la Corte y Ruano Calderon went to
the Marianas as governor, with orders to make certain needed reforms,
and to make a full report on the condition of the islands, which
he did. During the Spanish-American war of 1898, Guam was occupied
by the United States before the governor had even heard of the
outbreak of hostilities. For information regarding these islands,
their people, and history, consult Montero y Vidal's Historia de
Filipinas--which contains (i, pp. 350-352) a list of authorities,
both MS. and printed--and Archipiélago filipino, pp. 438-442; 2nd
bibliographies of the Philippines, especially those of Retana, Griffin,
and Vindel, already cited, and Griffin's List of Books on Samoa and
Guam (Washington, 1901). As for the missions there, see Francisco
García's Vida y martyrio de Sanvitores (Madrid, 1683); Gobien's
Histoire des Isles Marianes (Paris, 1700), largely a translation from
the preceding; Murillo Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, which contains
several chapters on this subject; Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas,
vols. vii, viii; and especially Stöcklein's Neue Welt-Bott (Augsburg,
Gratz, and Wien, 1728-58), vols. i, iv, and v, which contain matter
on missions in Filipinas, Marianas, and Palaos, most of which is not
to be found in Lettres édifiantes.
VOLUME XVII
P. 88, line 8 from end: For "Dionisio" read "Diego;" the same on p. 5,
line 10.
P. 126, line 4 from end of note: For "invention" read "finding."
P. 136, note 40: For "grograin" read "grogram."
P. 150, end: The date of this document is September 5, not 9.
P. 222, second paragraph: See Bernard Moses's "Economic condition
of Spain in the sixteenth century," in Annual Report of American
Historical Association for 1893, pp. 125-133.
P. 243, "Sources:" The citation from Ventura del Arco should read
"pp. 383-405;" the same correction should be made on p. 282, under
no. 14.
P. 292, middle: The date of Salcedo's arrest should be October 9;
see VOL. XXXVII, p. 24. Cf. Diaz's Conquistas, p. 673.
P. 293, line 8 from end: After "Alcántara" insert "of military
affairs." Under sketch of Curuzealegui: for "twenty-fourth regidor"
read "one of the twenty-four regidors."
P. 299, line 4: After "October 30" insert "1776."
VOLUME XVIII
P. 36, note: In the books of the India House at Sevilla, accounts were
carefully kept for the estates of deceased persons (VOL. XVIII, p. 36,
note 3), the deceased being credited "with all that is brought over
in armadas and flotas, and debited with all that is delivered to his
heirs, executors, and creditors." These funds grew very large, and
loans were made therefrom; in 1633 the king borrowed over 500,000
ducats, but would not return this money. Later, such property
was forfeited, if unclaimed for two years. By decree of 1671, the
treasurer was allowed one per cent for managing these funds. (Moses,
"Casa de Contratación of Sevilla," in Report of American Historical
Association, 1894, pp. 106, 107.)
P. 186, line 7: This raid occurred in October, 1618; the Moros killed
the commanders of the post, Arias Girón and Juan Pimentel. The shipyard
was valued at more than a million pesos. (Torrubía, Dissertación,
pp. 30, 31.)
VOLUME XIX
P. 206, line 3: For "ovens" read "furnaces."
P. 306, middle: This memorial is obtained from Pastells's edition of
Colin, iii, pp. 219-221.
P. 307, middle: For "done in silk and unwoven silver," read "not woven,
done in silk and silver [thread]."
P. 310, line 2: For "500 dead taes" should probably be read "gratuity
(or perquisite) of 500 taes;" apparently an expression analogous to
ganancias muertas, "a gambler's gains," indicating money obtained
without earning it--James A. LeRoy.
VOLUME XX
P. 75, line 6 from end: For "July 21" read "July 31." The same
correction is needed for p. 5, line 8.
VOLUME XXI
Pp. 41 and 42: The notes on these pages should be transposed, as they
are erroneously inserted--that on Nova collectio becoming note 8,
and that on the papal brief note 7.
P. 105, line 6: For "October 3" read "October 8."
VOLUME XXII
P. 30: At end of note insert after "See" the words "Lea's Moriscos
of Spain (Philadelphia, 1901), and."
P. 99, note: See also Formosa under the Dutch (London, 1904),
by Rev. William Campbell, an English Presbyterian missionary in
Formosa. He has used original sources, translating the writings of
Valentyn, Candidius, and other Dutch writers, and various letters
and other documents contemporary with Dutch rule in that island;
and at the end presents a full bibliography of the subject.
Pp. 125-129: Parde de Tavera states (Biblioteca filipina, p. 91,
no. 544), citing Medina, that this document is of earlier date
than 1618.
P. 289, middle: The line beginning "inhabitants" and ending "easily"
is a duplicate of the same line above, inserted here by a printer's
error; in its place insert "insurrection of the year 605 [sic] and
at present many."
VOLUME XXIV
P. 340, last line: For "113" read "13."
VOLUME XXV
P. 44, line 14: After "date" insert "of August 14."
P. 74, note 11: Penas de Cámara may be rendered, in a general way,
"fines of the exchequer;" but it should be remembered that cámara,
as used in this connection, means any royal tribunal, executive
or judicial--whether the Council of the Indias (which was often
referred to as el Consejo y Cámara de Indias), or the Audiencia
or the council of a colony, or the tribunal of accounts of any
establishment, or even the municipal council, or council under an
alcalde or alcalde-mayor. Penas de cámara in the laws of the Indies
had, I think, especial reference to the various penalties provided,
especially against officials for any non-performance of duty, by the
Council of the Indias; and there was a special board of accountants
for the fund of these fines, in connection with that Council.
In regard to the phrase contador de resultas, I have obtained (through
the kindness of Fenton R. McCreery, secretary of the American Embassy
at Mexico City) some further information, furnished by Señor José
Algara, Under-secretary for Foreign Affairs of Mexico. He thinks
that the above phrase is equivalent to glosador, [that is, to one
who makes comments or explanations, or who "designates any amount in
order to call attention to the examination or proof of the account
to which the item belongs" (Domínguez)], or to segundo contador ["a
second accountant"]. Señor Algara states that the references to the
accountants for the colonies in the laws of the Indias (book viii,
titles i and ii) did not define the character and duties of the various
officers, because that had already been done in the Nueva Recopilación
(title ii, law v, no. 1). He also cites from Nicolás M. Serrano's
Diccionario universal the following definition of contador de resultus:
"Any one of those persons in the first grade of the chief accountancy
[Contaduría Mayor de Cuentas], which corresponds to those officials
employed in former times by the comptroller-in-chief [contador mayor]
who were occupied in computing or transcribing the amounts in the
account-books of the obligations which are incurred by those persons
who administer the royal revenues by lease or by other title."--James
A. LeRoy (in a private letter).
P. 99, line 3 from end of text: For "thirty-five" read
"thirty-eight." The same correction should be made on p. 5, line 5
from end.
P. 146, line 10 from end: "Agreement" is not a quite satisfactory
rendering for the Spanish composición, which has a technical meaning
in regard to the possession of lands; see note on this subject
in VOL. LII pp. 296, 297. "Composition" will probably be the best
rendering, provided that this technical meaning is understood in
such use of the word. James A. LeRoy says of this, in a private
letter: "'Arrangement' also conveys somewhat the same idea--that
is, the rearrangement of their rights, or the reconciliation of
rights prescribed in this decree. Composición de derechos means,
quite closely rendered, 'reconciliation of rights,' according to
my recollection of its use in certain contracts which I have seen
here in Mexico. It gives the idea of arbitration, to some degree,
of rights more or less in conflict which are reconciled by agreement."
P. 147, line 7: Consolidations of encomiendas were made, in order
to abolish those which were too small, or make a more equitable
distribution of the territory comprised in those which were very
large. Pensions were also assessed against large encomiendas,
although in the laws of the Indias it was ordained that the maximum
amount of such pensions should be 2,000 pesos. Apparently the aim
of this decree was, to provide that in extending the tenure of the
encomiendas and rearranging them the royal officials should also
make allowance for the charges against the encomiendas in the way
of pensions, so consolidating them as to accord with the decrees of
previous years on this subject. Those decrees sought to prevent an
encomendero from being deprived of a fair income by the assessment of
too many pensions against it (for wives, relatives, or dependents of
previous encomenderos of the same district; or for other services to
the State, paid for by assigning portions of remunerative encomiendas);
and at the same time aimed to restrict the income to be derived from an
encomienda, and to make these incomes nearly uniform in value.--James
A. Leroy (in a private letter).
VOLUME XXVI
P. 5, line 2 from end: For "July-August" read "March-July."
P. 269, middle: For "bienzos" read "lienzos."
VOLUME XXVII
P. 5, line 4: For "Cavite" read "Manila."
P. 122, middle: The peso ensayado was, according to Lea (Hist. of
Inquisition in Spain, i, p. 562), a colonial coin, worth 400 maravedís,
equivalent to 11 3/4 reals, or a little more than a ducado.
P. 146: "The fundamental idea of the commercial and industrial
policy of Spain, as carried out through the India House, was that
of restriction and privilege." (Moses, Spanish Rule in America,
p. 265.) See Roscher's comments thereon in his Spanish Colonial System
(Bourne's ed.), p. 35.
P. 256, middle: This mention of the Salve refers to the Ave Maria,
not to the Salve Regina ("Hail, holy Queen!").--Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
P. 339, middle: The "Moro-Moro play" was a feature of town fiestas,
both religious and secular functions, for several centuries,
and is still common in the more remote towns, though the modern
sophisticated Filipinos have been trying to laugh it out of court,
and have done so in the more cultured regions. I saw it at Kotabato
in 1901, where the handful of Christians in the population played it
before the Commission and a host of gathered Moro tribesmen from up
the river.--James A. LeRoy (in a private letter).
VOLUME XXVIII
P. 47, note 19: In line 5, for "southern" read "northwestern." The
stronghold of the Moros, after Joló was destroyed, was at Maibun, a
town on the southern shore. Combés describes the island in detail in
his Hist. Mindanao y Joló, cols. 14-19. See also Escosura's Memoria
sobre Filipinas y Joló, pp. 213-436.
P. 55, note: Crawfurd is wrong as to the kris being a poniard
or dagger; or, if so, it is certainly in the Philippines a short,
straight-bladed sword, with wavy edges.--James A. LeRoy (in a private
letter). See illustrations of Moro weapons presented in this series;
also those in Worcester's Philippine Islands, p. 155, and in Reports
of Philippine Commission and other government documents. Collections
of these weapons may now be seen in most of the large museums in the
United States.
P. 96, note: The best description and classification of the pagan
and Moro tribes of Mindanao is that of Barrows in the Census of the
Philippines, i, pp. 461-477; see also his report for the Ethnological
Survey, in Report of the Philippine Commission for 1903.
P. 130, art. 564, line 1: For the second "province" read "convent."
P. 200, end of paragraph 1: In one of Viana's official opinions in 1765
(Respuestas, fol. 103, 104), he scores the board of the Misericordia
for demanding any further security than the royal name and promise
for loans made by them to the government; if they had been content
with that, thus "avoiding irrelevant conferences of theologians and
jurists," they would have responded with honor and loyalty to the
many favors that they have enjoyed from the king, etc.
P. 210, last paragraph: See account of this affair in VOL. I, note 67.
P. 211, paragraph 2: The laws of the Indias ordained--e.g., lib. vi,
tít. i, ley xviii (1550); lib. i, tít. xiii, ley v (1634)--that there
should be schools in which Spanish was to be taught, for the sake of
having a suitable language in which to teach the Christian faith.
P. 218, end of paragraph 1: Viana (Respuestas, fol. 102v) recommends
that certain criminals be sent to serve at Zamboanga, some for life and
others for specified terms. Forrest mentions the practice of sending
convicts from Manila to Zamboanga, as they were sent from England to
Botany Bay. The secretary mentioned by Le Gentil was Cosio, who himself
was afterward banished to Africa for his illegal acts under Raon.
P. 257, line 6: The word "impost" is incorrect here; the English
equivalent is most nearly approached by rendering this phrase [Spanish,
derecho de elecciones de gobernadorcillo], "the [government] right
in elections." J. A. LeRoy says of this, in a private letter: "It
apparently refers to the right of the superior government--generally
exercised in each province by the alcalde-mayor or provincial
governor--of selecting the gobernadorcillo of each pueblo from a list
of three [lerna], this list being proposed to him by the notables
[principales] at the annual election. It is altogether probable that
the man chosen sometimes had to pay that official, and that Mas is
here reporting this as another of the abuses which, under the early
Spanish régime, the friars used to charge against the alcaldes-mayor,
in that sense, being a 'robbery' of the natives."
P. 266, line 2: For "271-275" read "271-273."
P. 321, line 3: The statements of this writer would make it appear
that the friars developed the resources of Negros; but that is not
the fact. The old régime described by Mas and Jagor failed to develop
those resources; and the modern development of Negros (which dragged
the friars reluctantly after it) was accomplished through foreign
commerce and foreign traders, a part of the general development of
the Philippines as a whole. This very document shows how, when it was
seen to be beginning, through Spanish and Spanish half-caste planters,
to whose aid British importers of machinery of the modern sort soon
after came, the friars stepped in to claim an island which since the
Spanish discovery they had sadly neglected, and to wrest its growing
curacies from native priests. This friar's claims (pp. 319-322)
are all the more audacious in view of the proximity to his own time
of the development, through foreign agencies, which he claims as due
to his order. There are other parts of this same Recollect chronicle
which show how the modern political bitterness of spirit had crept
into the accounts of Philippine history emanating from the religious
orders.--James A. LeRoy (in a private letter).
P. 349, line 3: The volume-number should be "i," not "ii." The same
correction should be made on p. 370, last line.
P. 368, line 6: For "brothers" read "sisters."
VOLUME XXIX
P. 104, line 8 from end: After "taken." add "[Madrid, March 15, 1638.]"
VOLUME XXX
P. 54, note, lines 6-8 from end: It is only fair to the Duke de
Almodovar to explain the reasons for his treatment of Raynal's
work; they are thus given by José Arias y Miranda, in his Examen
crítico-histórico del influjo que tuvo en el comercio, industria
y población de España su dominación en América ("a work crowned
by the Real Academia de la Historia, and published by that body,
at Madrid, 1854"), an interesting and well-written study of that
subject, with learned and valuable annotations and much reference to
standard authorities: "In regard to the famous history of Abbé Raynal,
although it abounds in flights of imagination, in philosophical ideas,
and in passionate and declamatory judgments, it has merited general
acceptance on account of the information it contains and the notable
indications of penetration and genius which are revealed in it. But
it was not possible for the Duke de Almodovar to make it known to his
countrymen without variations and emendations, since it was one of
the works included in the Indexes of the Holy Office; he therefore
contrived to present it as a work imitated rather than produced,
without daring to mention even once the name of the author, or to
print his own on the title page, substituting for the latter the
anagram of 'Malo de Luque.' This recasting was very skilfully done;
he suppressed what could not be published; and added information and
very judicious reflections upon commerce in general and on that of our
[Spanish] possessions. Although this history belongs properly to our
literature, since it is not a translation, it has never been reprinted
since the first edition, copies of which are now becoming rare."
P. 229, note, line 2 from end: The phrase "grant of feudal rights"
is in Spanish la dominación á Caballería de Tierra. Much of the old
feudalism still remained at that time, preeminently in connection
with the military orders; there are many laws regarding these in the
Autos acordados, and some of them extend well into the seventeenth
century. Apparently Dasmariñas held the village of Binondo as a
sort of encomienda, [it was only the land which he purchased from
Velada], and had also the feudal right to the service of the Chinese
and mestizos (over whom he, a caballero, was lord), as retainers
obliged to serve him on the land, but not on sea.--James A. LeRoy
(in a private letter). Cf. note on caballería, VOL. XLVII, p. 199.
VOLUME XXXIII
P. 27, line 1: For "Venetia" read "Vicenza;" p. 273, note 1, line 2,
and p. 274, line 11, for "Venice," "Vicenza;" and p. 274, line 21
from end, for "Venetian," "Vicentine."
VOLUME XXXIV
P. 160, note 541, line 1: For "loony" read "loory."
VOLUME XXXV
P. 226, note 60: This note is a lapsus calami, as may be seen by the
date of the earthquake mentioned therein.
VOLUME XXXVII
P. 274, note, line 10 from end: For "fifty-five" read "sixty-five."
VOLUME XXXVIII
P. 79, note 41: Veitia Linage's Norte de contratación was Englished
(but with numerous omissions and additions) by Captain John Stevens,
as Spanish Rule of Trade to the West Indies (London, 1702). The
navigation, trade, and products of Filipinas are treated in book ii,
chapter xiii. The author was for some time commissioner and treasurer
of the India House of Trade at Sevilla. (Bernard Moses, in Report of
American Historical Association, 1894, p. 95.)
P. 207, line 4 from end: The accent on the final syllable of
Philippine geographical names ending in "n" is really a Spanish
variation, in accordance with the rule for pronunciation of such
names in Spanish. But when these names are (as is usually the case)
of Filipino origin the rule is--depending, of course, on their roots
and composition--that they are accented on the penult; e.g., Vígan,
Narvácan, Ilígan, etc. Spanish usage has distorted the pronunciation
in some cases, until the original accent has become Hispanicized,
as Cagayán, Pangasinán, etc.; but as a general rule these words are
accented on the penult.--James A. LeRoy (in a private letter).
VOLUME XXXIX
P. 33, note 5: Cf. the account given by Forrest (Voyage,
pp. 201-206) of the history of the rulers of Magindanao, and the
curious genealogical chart of the sultans of Mindanao and Joló which
follows; he obtained his information from Pakir Mawlana himself, who
took it from the "original records" in his possession. The Curay of
Concepción is called Kuddy by Forrest, who says that he was the son
of Tidoly and grandson of Kudarat (Corralat).
P. 97, line 4 of note: For "inhabited" read "uninhabited." (When
Dampier visited them in 1685 he found most of them peopled.) In regard
to the Batanes dialect, mentioned near the end, it contains strong
guttural aspirates, which are distinctive of this idiom; the nasal
sound alluded to is equally prevalent in Ilocano.--William Edmonds,
Basco, Batanes Islands, in a private letter.
VOLUME XLI
P. 55. note: The name Palaos (also written Palau or Pelew) is applied
to the western group of the Carolinas Archipelago, which extends
in a general east and west direction from the region south of the
Marianas. Although nominally the property of Spain, these islands
were greatly neglected by the Spaniards, even into the nineteenth
century. Their attention was directed for a time to the Palaos by the
event described in Clain's letter, and various attempts were made,
but unsuccessfully, to establish Christian missions therein, two
Jesuits, Duberon and José Cortil, being killed by natives in 1710,
and another, Antonio Cantova, meeting the same fate in 1731. In the
latter half of the last century, German interests gained ascendency
in the islands, which led to their absorption by Germany. Jagor
cites (Reisen, pp. 215, 216) several historical instances of Palaos
islanders being carried by storms to the coasts of Filipinas; and
adds, "Later, I had in Manila an opportunity to photograph a group of
people from the Paláos and Caroline Islands, who a year previously had
been cast by a storm on the coast of Samar." He also says (p. 203):
"As Dr. Gräffe (who spent many years in the Micronesas) informs me,
Paláos is an indefinite expression, like Kanaka and so many others,
and certainly does not designate the inhabitants of the Pelew group
exclusively." Regarding these islands, see Montero y Vidal's Hist. de
Filipinas, i, pp. 31, 402-409, 455-473. and his Archipiélago filipino,
pp. 469-505; also Miguel's Estudio de las Islas Carolinas, and the
various bibliographies of the Philippines, especially Griffin's List,
and Vindel's Catálogo biblioteca filipina. See Karl Semper's Die
Palau-Inseln im Stillen Ocean (Leipzig, 1873), which Pardo de Tavera
praises (Biblioteca filipina, p. 402) as "the most important modern
work on the Palaos Islands which I know." In the Ethnological Museum
at Dresden is an important collection of material made by Semper.
P. 313, line 9: Instead of Barcena, this name is written by Torrubia
(Dissertación, p. 63) Barrena.
P. 316, note: Add "apparently a misprint for Cutay."
VOLUME XLII
P. 64, line 6: A new tariff or parochial fees was ordained (November
19, 1771) by Archbishop Santa Justa; but little heed was paid to it by
many of the parish priests, who collected much more, for all functions,
than it prescribed.
P. 157, lines 4-6 from end: Alluding, it is said, to the noted Jewish
physician Hasdai.
VOLUME XLIII
P. 47, line 2 of chapter heading: For "religious" read "Zambals."
P. 72, line 3: For "Dampier" read "Cowley?" (See also our VOL. XXXIX,
p. 115, note.) Note 11: In the Philippine Journal of Science
(published by the Bureau of Science, Manila), for October, 1906, is
an interesting paper on "The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon,"
by Dean C. Worcester, secretary of the interior in the government
of the islands. He endeavors to furnish a systematic classification
of these tribes; repeats the lists made by the Jesuits, Professor
Blumentritt, and Dr. Barrows, criticizing each of these, and in some
respects differing from their methods; and then enumerates the separate
tribes, as classified by himself--giving under each, the synonyms of
the tribal name, with other names which may be classed under this;
"its habitat, so far as it is at present known;" and description of
its people, and of their dress, homes, mode of life, occupations,
customs, etc. A similar paper on those tribes in Southern Luzon
is announced for the coming year. For these papers Worcester has
utilized personal observations made on these peoples not only by
himself, but by numerous other government officials both civil and
military, during the years 1900-06; and special information regarding
them obtained in the census enumeration of 1903. He says (p. 802):
"It is not too much to say that hardly a rancheria now remains in
the Cordillera Central and its foothills, except in the district of
Apayos, which has not been visited by Americans, while even in the
latter district twenty-nine of the more important rancherias have
been visited." The above paper contains excellent illustrations made
from 208 photographs, taken by Worcester himself or other government
officials. Other valuable papers announced for the Journal in 1907
are: "The Tagbanua and Mangyan Alphabets," by T. H. Pardo de Tavera;
"The Subanos of the Zamboangan Peninsula," by Edwin B. Christie; and
"Primitive Philippine Fire-making Apparatus," by Dean C. Worcester.
P. 78, note 13: Worcester recognizes but seven distinct non-Christian
tribes in northern Luzon: the Negritos, Ilongots (Ibilaos), Kalingas,
Ifugaos, Bontoc Igorots, Lepanto-Benguet Igorots, and Tinguians. He
says of some of these tribal designations ("Non-Christian Tribes of
N. Luzon," p. 804): "The Altasanes, Ifumangies [the same as Jumangi],
Ileabanes, and Panuipuyes do not exist. In all probability these
latter names were taken from those of rancherias which have long
since disappeared. While some of the larger rancherias in northern
Luzon are very old, others are of recent origin and the names and
locations of these settlements are constantly changing."
P. 102, line 5: It gives us pleasure to publish the following
information furnished by Dr. N. M. Saleeby, the error in the text
being based on erroneous information: "I beg to inform you that
Dr. N. M. Saleeby is not a 'native Moro,' nor is he Mohammedan. I went
to Cotabato, Mindanao, in May, 1901, as a captain and assistant surgeon
U.S.V., and served in that capacity until February 1, 1903. From the
latter date until June 30, 1906, I served as superintendent of schools,
and member of the legislative council for the Moro Province. I am
a naturalized American citizen, and was born in a Christian home in
Lebanon, Syria." He is now connected with the Bureau of Science at
Manila, Division of Ethnology.
P. 103, line 6: For "MS." read "book (Sampaloc, 1731)."
P. 154, end of note: In Report of Philippine Commission for 1906,
i, pp. 60-62, is an account of the law regulating (for the present)
the sale and use of opium in the islands--a high-license system,
adopted on March 8, 1906.
P. 173, line 3 from end of text: "Serif, or Sherif, is a term of
dignity bestowed on every supposed descendant of Mahomet" (Forrest,
Voyage, p. 285).
VOLUME XLIV
P. 72, note: The Report of the Philippine Commission for 1906 indicates
(pp. 340, 341, 381) gratifying success in the operation of the Moro
Exchange in the district of Zamboanga, which "has led to similar
exchanges being established on a small scale in the districts of
Cotabato and Lanao, and large ones are projected in Sulu and the
district of Davao." It has "greatly stimulated fisheries among
the Moros," and "islands which were formerly inhabited by lawless
people who were practically pirates are now the scenes of peaceful
activity on the part of Moro fishermen." An agreement has been made
with the merchants of the district to transact all their buying from
the natives through the exchanges, on a cash basis instead of barter,
etc. The amount of sales in the Moro exchanges for the year 1905-06
was 298,481 pesos (Philippine currency).
P. 152, line 5: The envoy sent on this occasion, General Benito
Carrasco Pan y Agua (who was chief notary of the cabildo of Manila),
wrote a relation of his embassy and the voyage to Siam, which was
published at Manila in 1719. (Vindel, Catálogo, iii, no. 2622.)
P. 222, note: Patiño, who had been prominent in governmental affairs
for nearly twenty years, died in 1736; he was a statesman and
financier, and advocated peace with all the other powers, especially
England.
P. 255, lines 3-5 from end: Up to the beginning of the sixteenth
century, Toledo was the chief city in Spain in manufacturing silk;
it has been estimated that this industry gave employment there
to at least 100,000 people. Gaspar Naranjo, "who traveled through
España late in the seventeenth century, asserts that, according to
his knowledge, in 1480 Toledo consumed 450,000 libras of silk, which
could furnish the supply for 15,000 looms. Although this number was
greatly lessened when the Escorial was completed, yet from the looms
of Toledo proceeded the richest silks for church adornments, ribbons,
and hangings. In the year 1651 Toledo still counted 5,000 looms in
operation, although not all within the city; a little afterward, there
were not more than two thousand; in 1714 they were reduced to seventy,
and finally to none at all. When the remnants of this manufacture
left Toledo, that of Valencia gained strength, but never to the
extent which might have been if legislation had permitted it. The
Moors had left that of Granada in the best condition; years after
the conquest it maintained 5,000 spinning-wheels, and the kingdom
yielded a million libras of good silk; but just at this point began
the exactions of the revenue officials, and likewise, in consequence,
the decadence of this industry. It was declared subject to the payment
of alçabala, which was a tax of fourteen per cent when once the tenth
was applied as an ecclesiastical income; eight maravedís besides
were charged to it for the impost called tortil [i.e., spiral?],
and nine maravedís more for a municipal tax. When with the increase
from successive impositions the management of this revenue became
too complicated, all these duties were combined in one; and then it
was seen that every libra of silk paid, as its share of the taxes,
the enormous amount of very nearly fifteen and one-half reals. With
the increase in taxes, the production steadily diminished; by 1643,
that of Granada had decreased from a million to one-fourth of that
amount, and not long afterward to 80,000, and even less. The silk
industry, thus burdened, had to compete with that of Genoa, whence
large shipments of silk goods were freely imported into Spanish
ports, and sold at lower prices than the goods made in España; and
a mortal blow was dealt to it when the exportation of Spanish silks
was prohibited, and sumptuary laws reserved the use of silk fabrics
to a few classes. It is astonishing that this industry has been able
to survive up to the present epoch, although it is in a languishing
condition." (Arias y Miranda, Examen crítico-histórico, pp. 154, 155.)
P. 267, note 78, line 7 from end: For "p. 278" read "p. 279."
P. 286, note 87: The document here mentioned was afterward shifted
to another place; the reference should be to VOL. XLVII, p. 119,
paragraph 1 of note.
VOLUME XLV
P. 53, middle: Regarding the powers, privileges, and duties of the
viceroys appointed by the crown of Spain, see Moses's Spanish Rule
in America, pp. 86-92.
P. 272, line 3: A number of MS. songs are in the collection of Edward
E. Ayer, Chicago, some of them scratched on the smooth outside of a
joint of bamboo.
VOLUME XLVII
P. 213, line 10: For "rice-mills" read "rice-market."
P. 236, note, line 1: Somodevilla, Marqués de Ensenada, was minister
under Felipe V and Fernando VI, and rendered great service to his
country; he re-created the Spanish navy, and strengthened Spanish
commerce. He favored the French, and tried to unite the Bourbon kings
in a close alliance; but in 1754 he was banished from the court. He
promoted agriculture, irrigation, road-building, manufactures, and
mining, and made financial reforms; and he brought to an end the
controversies with Rome over the royal patronage.
VOLUME XLVIII
P. 63, last sentence: "Throughout the Cordillera Central [of Luzon]
the rancheria or settlement is the social and political unit. In
the head-hunting countries rancherias of people of the same tribe
were constantly at war with each other, and the blood feuds between
them were handed down from generation to generation. As a result,
intercourse between these rancherias was more or less completely
cut off for scores of years. It was unavoidable that differences of
dialect should develop under such circumstances." (Dean C. Worcester,
"Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon," in Philippine Journal of
Science, October, 1906, p. 798.)
Pp. 173, 174, note 101: Some of these islanders must have remained
permanently on the mainland, notwithstanding the decree for their
return to the islands; for on February 23, 1765, Viana recommended
that the deputy alcalde-mayor of Cagayan be allowed to remove the
Babuyan families from Buguey to Duao, as the latter was secure from
the Moros. Viana advised, however, that the Babuyans be not allowed
to form barrios or visitas far away from the main reduction, and that
every arrangement be made to secure their safety from the Moros and
from fire. (Viana, Respuestas, fol. 91.)
P. 183, last two lines of text: This company of 1755 was formed
"under the patronage of our Lady of the Rosary, and the protection
of his Majesty;" see the title-page of its Ordenanzas, facsimile of
which is given in Vindel's Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 645.
P. 189, note 111: The reforms and regulations made by Arandía for the
Acapulco galleon may be found, in full detail, in his Ordenanzas de
marina (Manila, 1757) with additions thereto, also printed in that
year; these contain 164 and 57 pages respectively, and two large and
handsomely engraved charts (by the Filipino engraver Laureano Atlas),
showing the port of Sisiran in Camarines, and that of Cajayagan and
Calomotan ("commonly called Pálapa") between the islands of Laguan
and Batac.
VOLUME XLIX
Pp. 7, 12, 25: The author of the "Plan of an expedition for the
conquest of the southern Philippines" was, according to the records
of the British Museum, Alexander Dalrymple, not Draper. The date is
given as 1702 in the MS catalogue of the Museum.
P. 309, note 185, line 4: For "of" read "on."
VOLUME L
Pp. 118-136: The date of Viana's letter should be May 10.
P. 159, line 8 of note 89: Before "[Americana]" for "white suit"
read "white coat." J. A. LeRoy says of this, in a private letter:
"Americana here means a short or sack coat, of white drill or duck,
buttoned up to the throat, and worn with only a gauze undershirt
beneath it, and the trousers (often white also). It is the common garb
of Europeans and upper-class natives in the tropics. This usage among
Spaniards seems to have died out in Spanish America, but the word is
common in the Philippines, where it is probably a survival from earlier
Spanish-American usage, transplanted to those islands. Many Spanish
writers mention with contempt the way in which class distinctions in
dress vanished among Spaniards in the Philippines (save, of course,
among the military, ecclesiastical, and high official classes). So too,
the donning of the Americana meant the assumption of social prestige
or aspirations by the Filipinos. Only a few years ago, nearly all the
latter wore the gauze shirt outside of the trousers; but in recent
years the younger men of education, even in the villages, and gradually
the older men, have been adopting the Americana for ordinary wear--a
change which has been greatly accelerated during American occupation."
VOLUME LII
P. 309, line 12: Through lack of space, we are prevented from
giving (as we had intended) an adequate treatment of the subject
of commerce as a special topic, from the middle of the eighteenth
century to that of the nineteenth. Much, however, has been presented
in various documents of VOLS. L-LII, which throws light on commercial
conditions; and to these may be added the following references to
documents and authorities which will enable the student to find
desired material regarding this subject. "Regulation of December 18,
1769, for the distribution of permits [boletas] and for the lading
of the Acapulco galleon at Manila," in Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer
library), v, pp. 403-519. Le Gentil, Voyage, ii, pp. 192-230. Royal
decree for the establishment of the Compañia de Filipinas, March
10, 1785; also decree of July 12, 1803, making new regulations and
conferring new privileges. Dissertation on the benefits arising from
the aforesaid company, by Valentin de Foronda, in his Miscelánea
(Madrid, 1787). Malo de Luque [i.e., Duqae de Almodovar], Historia
política de los establecimientos de las naciones europeos; tomo
v (Madrid, 1790) is devoted to the Spanish settlements in Asia,
the decree erecting the Compañia de Filipinas, and its operations
during 1785-89. Remonstrance addressed by the Company (Madrid,
1821) to the Spanish Cortes against its decree of October 19, 1820,
abolishing the Company's privilege of the exclusive traffic with
Asia conferred on it by the decree of 1803; this remonstrance is
supported by the opinions of "celebrated jurisconsults of Spain,
France, Holland, and England." Rafael Díaz Arenas, Memoria sobre el
comercio y navegación de las Islas Filipinas (Cádiz, 1838). Andrés
García Camba, Reglamento de la Junta de Comercio de Manila (Manila,
1838). Comyn, Estado, pp. 43-71. Mas, Informe, ii, fourth and fifth
sections. Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, pp. 219-238. Mallat,
Les Philippines, ii, pp. 290-356. Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero,
Libertad de comercio en las Islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1871). Jagor,
Reisen, pp. 312-316. Gregorio Sancianco y Goson, El progreso de
Filipinas (Madrid, 1881), especially pp. 238-249. Montero y Vidal,
Historia de Filipinas, ii and iii; also his Archipiélago filipino,
pp. 220-259. Retana, articles in Política de España en Filipinas,
1891, pp. 146-148, 233-234, 245-247; for 1892, pp. 27, 28; for 1893,
pp. 8, 9, 77, 78. Code of Commerce in force in Cuba, Porto Rico,
and Philippines (Washington, 1899). Census of Philippine Islands, iv,
pp. 557-585. "Modern development of the Philippines through commerce,"
a series of articles by James A. LeRoy in Dun's International Review,
November, 1905-February, 1906. Cf. authorities cited in Bourne's
"Introduction" to this series (VOL. I), and in LeRoy's contribution
to the present volume; also writings named in the bibliographies of
Griffin, Pardo de Tavera, Vindel, and Retana.
NOTES
[1] This is Sinibaldo de Mas, a noted Spanish traveler and diplomat. He
was born at Barcelona, in 1809, and studied at Madrid, especially
the classic languages, Arabic and other modern languages. In 1634,
he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Orient, where he visited
successively Constantinople, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Calcutta,
the Arabian desert, and lastly Manila, where he lived for some
months. After his return to the Peninsula, he was appointed Spanish
minister plenipotentiary to China. Pardo de Tavera says of him
(Biblioteca Filipina, p. 253): "The work of Mas is highly interesting,
only that, having sojourned a very short time in Filipinas, during
which he was sick most of the time, he wrote his work by reference
to others, and taking from the chronicles of the friars the elements
necessary for the history and the races. He does not cite sources, and
it is cleverly written, and passes with some persons as a classic work
on Filipinas.... His vanity led him to suppress his name...." Pardo de
Tavera does not seem to know the third volume. Retana [who possessed a
copy of the third volume (No. 2432 in his library, which was sold to
the Compañía general de tabacos de Filipinas), says in Bibliografía
filipina, p. 524]: "This third and secret part has never been
described. The author published very few copies of it because of the
gravity of its contents. Sinibaldo de Mas contrary to what those who
know his Estado [i.e., the first two volumes] may imagine, pronounced
in favor of preparation of independence for Filipinas." In this third
volume Mas precedes the text as follows: "Of this secret chapter, the
last of the Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842,
only some few copies have been printed for the ministers, gentlemen of
the Council of the Government, and other persons influential in the
affairs of the nation. Consequently, your Excellency is requested
to keep it for your own use, without allowing it to circulate or
permitting a copy to be made of it." The copy belonging to the Peabody
Institute Library belonged to Javier de Burgos. See (in addition to
Pardo de Tavera and Retana) Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., xii, p. 537.
[2] The first two volumes have separately paged chapters as follows:
I. Origin of the inhabitants of Oceanica. Condition of the Filipinos
at the arrival of the Spaniards. History of the Spanish domination in
Filipinas from their discovery until our times. Continuation of the
last chapter. Population. Animals. Climate. Minerals. Topography.
II. Languages. Vegetables. Agriculture. Interior commerce. Foreign
commerce. Industry. Territorial division. Administration of government
and the captaincy-general. Public instruction. Ecclesiastical
condition. Administration of justice. Army. Navy. Direct and indirect
taxes. External political condition. Vol. i contains a chart showing
the ancient alphabets of the Filipinos; and vol. ii, a map of the
archipelago.
[3] A note by Mas at this point discusses the other admissible
plan, "namely, to cede the country to some foreign power." But the
religious, the majority of the military and civil employes, and the
Filipino-Spaniards would prefer independence to transfer, and the
simple announcement of such transfer would lead to almost universal
insurrection. The fatal results that ensued from the former English
policy of sending convicts to their colonies declares against making
the Philippines a penal colony. Another plan, namely, to send out
Spanish emigrants from the Peninsula, is also not feasible, for Spain
has no surplus population, and in fact needs a greater population. On
the matter of penal colonies, Forrest (Voyage, p. 198) says, "The
Spaniards at Manila transport convicts to Samboangan, as England did
to America." In 1875-78, there was some discussion of the question
as to whether Spain should establish penal colonies (like that of
Botany Bay) in the Marianas Islands or in the Gulf of Guinea.
[4] By this term, as well as by "Filipino Spaniards," as used in
this document, are meant those of full Spanish blood born in the
Philippines, or those who went to the Philippines in childhood.
[5] The Consejo Supremo de Indias, which was established, according to
the best authorities, in 1511 by the great Ferdinand, was perfected
by Cárlos I, and was reformed by Felipe II. It was composed of a
president, a number of togated ministers, and an indefinite number of
counselors by brevet, and they all received the same consideration as
did members of the Consejo de Castilla. This corporation, which had
had so great influence in Spanish colonial matters, was suppressed
by royal decree of May 24, 1834, and in its place was erected the
Tribunal Supremo de España é Indias, which was renamed Consejo de
Estado in 1856. See Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., v, p. 827.
[6] The exact title of this work is as follows: Los diez y seis
meses de mando superior de Filipinas, por el mariscal de campo
D. Andres G. Camba (Cadiz, 1839). Pardo de Tavera (Bibl. Filipina,
p. 79) says of it: "This pamphlet is full of curious revelations and
explanations relative to the command of this general, which was so
filled with incidents." Retána (Bibliografía, p. 57) says that Camba
was a democrat sui generis. The book is a long exposition of 101
pages, to which are appended various documents (53 pages) on which
the exposition is based. The copy of this pamphlet now in the Boston
Public Library was formerly in the Retana collection.
[7] See account of this mutiny in VOL. LI, pp. 47, 48.
[8] See post, pp. 92, 93, note 37.
[9] See post, pp. 91-111, the report by Matta.
[10] In a long note at this point, Mas severely criticises Camba's
book, which he has already mentioned. He declares it lacking in
knowledge of the Philippines, and says that it was written to prove
that the Philippines are thoroughly loyal in every respect. Mas's own
experience pointed to the existence of an independence party among
the Spaniards of the colony. Mas condemns Camba's policy of giving
posts to the natives; as well as Camba's assertions of the immunity
of the governor from removal at the will of the monarch. Camba is
accused of a change of sentiment from that which he had during his
first years of residence in the country.
[11] Mas refers to the culture system practiced by the Dutch in the
island of Java, 1830-1870. Clive Day (Policy and administration of
the Dutch in Java, New York and London, 1904) compares it to the
system of forced cultures established by Spain in the Philippines
in 1780. In addition to the above book, see the following for the
history of Dutch colonization in Java: J. W. B. Money's Java, or how
to govern a colony (London, 1861); P. J. Veth's Java (Haarlem, 1896-);
Jules Leclercq's Un sejour dans l'île de Java (Paris, 1898); Wilhelm
Krüger's Das Zuckerrohr und seine Kultur (Magdeburg und Wien, 1899);
and Pierre Gonnaud's La Colonisation hollandaise à Java (Paris, 1905).
[12] A note at this point by Mas mentions a recent pamphlet by a
Cuban who advocates complete autonomy for the colonies, and freedom
of the press. This author says that long before the French revolution
free negroes and mulattoes were being educated in Paris; but Mas says
people of that class in Cuba do not travel in foreign countries or
receive an education in European colleges.
[13] Mas cites a passage from Captain Gabriel Lafond's Quinze ans
de voyages autour du monde (1840) to the effect that the Philippine
conquest was one of religion. The power of the friars grows because
they are permanent in the colony. Their influence over the natives
is all powerful, and they regard foreigners and even other Spaniards
with suspicion. The friars asserted that the natives to be happy had
no need of European civilization; yet they prevented progress by not
allowing the entrance of industry. Spain did not suppress the orders
in the Philippines, fearing lest it lead to independence. The native
priests are those most hostile to the friars. They are almost without
education and often dissolute; and are sure to be the first authors
of a revolution. Natives should be excluded from the priesthood.
[14] The insurrection which occurred recently in Tayabas is a patent
proof of these truths. The cura of the village where the confraternity
of San José was established, advised the alcalde of the province
in time of the suspicions with which it infused him. And since the
alcalde-mayor refused to consider the matter, he wrote him: "You will
be the first victim," as in truth he was. The cura of the next village
also took great interest in it, and so many letters were written to
the archbishop of Manila from various places, that the latter sent
an official communication to the captain-general. Orders were then
issued for the arrest of Apolinario de Santa Cruz, but he fled. The
brothers [of the confraternity] held their meetings in the village of
Mahahay. The cura informed the archbishop thereof, telling him that,
notwithstanding all that he had done, he had been unable to dissuade
them from this undertaking. The archbishop sent this advice to the
government. To the curas, then, was due the discovery of that crafty
conspiracy; and it is almost beyond the pale of doubt that if there had
been no others than Filipino parish priests in the villages (as has
been once ordered by the government), there would not have been the
slightest suspicion of it, until it had been so firmly and generally
organized that our ruin would have been the work of a week. (Note
by Mas.)
[15] Either Mas has simply indicated the letter in his heading, or
the person who transcribed the copy from which we translate failed to
copy the extract in question. It will be remembered that Mas published
most of the letter in his vol. i, in the chapter on population. The
reference is evidently to sections 95-100 (q.v., VOL. XL, pp. 270-277).
[16] Manuel Grijalbo (sic), O.S.A., went to the Philippines in 1810,
and after acting as cura and holding the highest positions in the
province, was appointed bishop of Nueva Cáceres, being consecrated
Jan. 28, 1849. He died at the episcopal palace, Nov. 13, 1861.
Fausto Lopez, O.S.A., was born in 1811, took his vows at Valladolid in
1828, and went to the Philippines in 1829. He was located in Cebú until
1837, when he became provincial secretary. Afterwards he held several
offices and acted as cura until his death at Manila, April 17, 1866.
Manuel Jarava, O.S.A., was born at Zaragoza in 1804 and professed
at Valladolid in 1827. He was in the Philippines from 1829 to 1834,
returning in the latter year to Spain. The date of his death is
unknown.
See Pérez's Catálogo.
[17] Manuel Maria Cambronero was a Spanish jurisconsult. He was born
in Orihuela in 1765 and died in 1834. During the French invasion,
he acted as secretary of the Council of State, on account of which
he was compelled to leave the country when the French left. He later
returned to Madrid, where he opened a buffet, which was the most
celebrated one of his time. See Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., iv, p. 330.
[18] A tribute paid to the church by all Filipinos from the age
of sixteen.
"Since 1852 the tribute amounts to 12 reals, and in some districts
special rates are fixed. Not until 1841 was the payment of the tribute
in cash made universal. There are, besides, three other taxes;
the sanctorum, 3 reals; the comunidad, 1 real; and the recargo,
1/2 real. The total of imposts, then, is 16 1/2 reals; or for
each single person one dollar and 1/4 real. The sanctorum is for
[the expenses of] worship; but it is paid to the government, which
pays the minister at the rate of 180 dollars for 500 tributes. The
comunidad is a charge for the communal fund. The recargo is a charge
introduced since the suppression of the brandy monopoly, to cover the
deficit resulting therefrom. In Mindanao and the Bisayas no additional
charge is collected. According to Agius (Memoria, doc. 5) each single
tribute-payer now contributes 6.25 reals, plus 0.55 reals of recargo,
in all 6.8 reals, not considering the sanctorum and comunidad. The
inhabitants of Abra, Ilocos, and Union pay, besides, 1 1/2 to 2 1/4
reals for the permission to buy their tobacco outside the monopoly
dealers." "Mestizos by a Chinese man and an Indian woman pay a tribute
of $3.00 a year since 1852; earlier, it was less. The Indian woman
married to a mestizo of this class pays the same tribute as he during
their marriage; but when she becomes a widow she pays only as an Indian
woman. Mestizos who, like the natives, cultivate the soil with their
own hands, also pay only as the latter do. The mestizos form their own
barangays when there are 25 to 30 tributes of them living together;
otherwise they belong to the nearest barangay of natives. Every
Chinaman--excepting tillers of the soil, from whom only 12 reals are
collected--pays since 1852 a [capitation] head-tax of $6.00, and,
besides this, an industrial tax of $100, $60, $30, or $12."
"A law issued Nov. 3, 1863 (Legis. ultramar [compiled by Rodriguez
S. Pedro, pub. at Madrid, 1865] iii), actually decided that every
male inhabitant of the Philippines--European or native, Spanish
or foreign--must render personal service for twenty-four days in
the year, or else procure release from it by a money payment. But
this law was not put into execution, and Europeans are free from all
imposts. Mestizos by Spaniards and Indian women are similarly exempt,
save that they pay 7 reals for the sanctorum, and 1/2 real as a tithe
for the government; little care, however, is taken for exactness in
the enumeration of the mestizos, especially of their women." (Jagor,
Reisen, pp. 293-295.)
[19] The Colegio de Agustinos, or Colegio de Filipinas, at Valladolid,
would probably come under this category.
[20] The use of steam vessels against the Moros was introduced in 1847,
and proved an immediate benefit.
[21] See VOL. LI, notes 6, 7, 14, 16, 31.
[22] This was Admiral Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace, who was born at
sea Nov. 7, 1793, and died at Brest, Jan. 22, 1875. The book mentioned
by Mas is the Voyage autour du monde par les mers de l'Inde et de la
Chine (1833-39). The matte on the Philippines is contained in vol. i,
pp. 353-470, 547-553, and is as follows: "Manille; description de
Luçon; quelques details sur son gouvernement, ses habitants, leurs
moeurs et leur industrie;" and notes. See La grande encyclopédie,
xxi, p. 947; and the Philippine bibliography issued by the Library
of Congress.
[23] The office of army intendant was created by royal orders of July
17 and 26, 1784, in accordance with the proposition of Governor Basco;
to the office was united that of the subdelegate superintendency
of the treasury. The new office was independent of the superior
government of the islands. The first incumbent of the new office was
Ciriaco Gonzalez Carvajal, then auditor of the royal Audiencia and
assessor-general of the government. See Montero y Vidal, Historia
general, ii, pp. 311, 312.
[24] The first edition of the Recopilación de leyes de Indias was
published at Madrid in 1681.
[25] For the powers of the alcaldes-mayor, see VOL. XVII, pp. 323,
324, and 333, 334.
[26] i.e., A report of the matter must be made to the government,
through its respective ministries, and after deliberation the course
to be followed would be ordered. Throughout the history of the
Philippines, this method often proved a great drawback to effective
government, because of the distance from Spain and difficulty of
communication; so much so that when the answer was received, the
matter was already wellnigh or completely a dead letter.
[27] On leaving his office Francisco Enriquez left two printed
documents as follows: Oficio al Secretario de Estado dando cuenta de
haber hecho entrega de la Intendencia á D. Luis Urrejola (Manila,
June 11, 1836; 2 leaves on rice paper); and Entrega que hace de
sus funciones, en este dia, el Intendente general de Ejercito
... al Ecsmo. Sr. D. Luis Urrejola (Manila, July 11, 1836; in 16
leaves). The document mentioned by Mas must be one of these. See
Retana's Bibliografia filipina, pp. 54, 55 (the title to the first
document is made by Retana).
[28] i.e., All the papers belonging to any matter, judicial,
legislative, or executive, consisting of orders, opinions, reports,
and all other measures.
[29] A note at this point states that the polo and service tax had
not been extended to the Chinese mestizos, who were not in existence
when the tax was first imposed, or were but few, until a few years
back, when the natives of Lingayen brought up the matter. Chinese
mestizos formed the wealthiest part of many villages; and it was
decided that since they were to the natives as 1:6, they should pay
such taxes for one month to the natives' six. At Vigan, Ilocos Sur,
the natives also presented a petition against the mestizos because
natives alone were compelled to furnish provisions, etc., to the troops
in their province at the schedule price, while the mestizos escaped;
and for which reason many of the natives joined the mestizo ranks,
saying that the state profited thereby because as mestizos they
paid a double tribute. Governor Oraá, however, imposed a fine for
such denaturalization. As regards the petition against the mestizos,
an expediente was formed, and in July, 1841, the natives were ordered
to send a salaried agent to conduct a suit against the mestizos. But
they being poor could not do so, while it was understood that the
mestizos had paid a bribe of 1,000 pesos to the assessor. Consequently,
it appears that notwithstanding the efforts of the alcalde-mayor and
Mas, nothing could be done, as the governor was so hedged in.
[30] Francisco Enriquez succeeded Urrijola (who had been appointed
October, 1820, as intendant-general of the army and treasury), in
the office of intendant in 1828, being granted more ample powers than
the latter had enjoyed. By a royal decree of October 27, 1829, it was
ordered that the superintendency should be held by the intendant of the
army and royal treasury, and accordingly Enriquez took such charge on
September 9, 1630. See Montero y Vidal, Hist. gen., ii, pp. 457, 521.
[31] See José Cabezas de Herrera's Apuntes históricos sobre la
organización político-administrativa de Filipinas (Manila, 1883). This
is an excellent treatise on the governmental administration of the
Philippines.
[32] See the budget of receipts and expenditures in the Philippines
for the year, July, 1885-June, 1886, in Montero y Vidal's El
archipiélago filipino, pp. 169-186. The expenditures involve:
general obligations, 1,523,335.07 pesos; state, 125,000 pesos;
grace and justice, 1,085,769.62 pesos; war, 3,494,923.31 pesos;
treasury, 1,356,031.30 pesos; navy, 2,423,518.91 pesos; government,
1,267,007.43 pesos; public works (fomento), 349,322.87 pesos; total,
11,624,908.51 pesos. The receipts were 11,528,178 pesos.
[33] The administrative affairs of the colonies were placed in charge
of the ministerio de la gobernación (ministry of the government) in
1832, and were added in 1836 to the ministerio de marina (ministry
of the navy), which was after that called secretaría del despacho de
marina, comercio y gobernación de ultramar (department of the navy,
commerce, and colonial government). After various other changes, the
ministerio de ultramar (ministry of the colonies) was established by
royal decree, May 20, 1863. The duties of the ministry are outlined
as follows: to modify the organization or administrational régime
of the colonies; to fix or change the annual budget of receipts and
expenditures; to dispose of the surplus products of the colonies; to
adopt any rule relative to the establishment or suppression of imposts;
to propose persons for the offices of governor and captain-general,
intendants, and regents of the Audiencia; to grant titles, etc.,
to persons in the colonies; to adopt any measure affecting the
exterior regimen of the Church or the royal patronage; to decide any
serious matter according to the judgment of the minister; to draw
up preparatory measures of resolutions allowing expenses or advances
of funds by the public treasury of the Peninsula, which resolutions
belong to the ministry of the treasury; to transmit communications of
the ministers of state, war, and navy, to the authorities of those
provinces, and the communications of the latter to the respective
ministers. See Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., xiii, pp. 131, 132.
[34] In 1803 a Spanish pamphlet was published at Philadelphia,
advocating the opinion that Spain "ought to get rid of all her colonies
in America and Asia, in order to promote agriculture and industries
in the Peninsula;" it is attributed to the Marqués de Casa Irujo
(Vindel, Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 1797).
[35] Matta took possession of the above office on June 2, 1841; he
had long been connected with the affairs of the colony. In 1837 he
had drawn up a detailed report on the advantage which would result
from introducing steamboats into the islands. (Montero y Vidal,
Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 573.)
[36] Cuerpo del Resguardo: the guards employed by the treasury to look
after the customs and excise duties on the government monopolies of
tobacco, wines, liquors, etc.
[37] For accounts of the confraternity of San José, see Manuel
Sancho's Relacion expresiva de los principales acontecimientos de la
titulada Cofradía del señor San José (first published by W. E. Retana
in La Política de España, no. 21, et seq.); Memoria histórica de la
conducta militar y politica del Teniente General D. Marcelino Oraá
(Madrid, 1851), probably written by Pedro Chamorro; and Montero y
Vidal, Hist. gen., iii, pp. 37-56. This confraternity was founded by
Apolinario de la Cruz, a Tagálog, a native of Lucban in the province
of Tayabas, who was a donné in the hospital of San Juan de Dios in
Manila. The new confraternity soon had many adherents in the provinces
of Tayabas, Laguna, and Batangas, and in the middle of 1840 began to
hold meetings in Lucban, to which both sexes were admitted, and at
which letters from Apolinario were read. The attention of the friar
parish priests was directed to the confraternity, and the meeting of
October 19, 1840 was surprised and about 243 persons out of the 500 or
600 attending it, arrested. The governor of Tayabas province, however,
who regarded the matter as entirely one of ecclesiastical jurisdiction,
ordered the prisoners to be released. Through the representations
of the parish priest of Lucban, the provincial governor finally
intervened, and the adherents to the confraternity thereupon held
their meetings secretly in Majayjay in Laguna Province. The meeting of
Sept. 19, 1841, at the latter place, was surprised and some arrests
made, although but few, as information of the intended raid had
been received. The departure of the provincial governor of Tayabas,
Joaquin Ortega, for Manila, was favorable to the new sect, as a native
adherent or sympathizer was left in charge of the government. Through
his acquiescence, the members of the confraternity who had gathered in
armed bands at the village of Bay in Laguna (where they were joined
by Apolinario, who had fled from Manila), were allowed to ensconce
themselves in Igsaban, Tayabas. From thence they opened negotiations
with the government at Tayabas to be allowed to occupy that city,
the substitute governor requesting from the parish priest that they
be allowed to hold a novena in his church. Negotiations failed,
and Ortega, returning on the twenty-second of October, ordered the
natives to disperse, and on their refusal attacked them the next
day with a force of over three hundred men. The natives, aided by a
band of Negritos who had joined them, repulsed this force and killed
Ortega, and then retired to Alitao to celebrate a novena. There
they were attacked on the first of November by a force composed of
troops sent by Oraá, and those of the province of Tayabas, and after
a severe engagement the natives were defeated. Apolinario, who fled,
was soon captured and shot on the fourth, others of the leaders being
also arrested. Apolinario was but twenty-seven years old, and evidently
worked on the superstitious nature of his countrymen, who believed that
he was immune from danger and that the rebel forces would be aided by
the direct intervention of heaven. His followers baptized him under
the name of "The king of the Tagálogs." No one except pure-blooded
natives were allowed to become members of the organization, from which
circumstance the Spaniards have always professed to believe that the
confraternity was political in nature and that religious motives were
merely a blind. Some (as in Vindel's Catálogo biblioteca filipina,
no. 1895) assert that the confraternity was a sort of Katipunan. It
is quite probable, however, that its origin was entirely religious,
but religion mingled with superstition and fanaticism. The fact that
Apolinario attempted to legalize the existence of the organization
through both ecclesiastical and government centers, which was refused
in both instances, indicates that the insurrection was forced by the
Spaniards, through either fear or contempt. It is highly unlikely
that the organization had at the beginning any political motive,
and its attempted suppression was a mistake of the religious and
civil authorities.
[38] The defeat and slaughter of the members of the confraternity of
San José angered the native soldiers from the Province of Tayabas,
who were quartered in Malate. Conspiring with some of the garrison
of the fort of Santiago, also from the same province, they attacked
and took that fort Jan. 20, 1843, under the leadership of two brothers
(mestizos and officers of the regiment), after killing the officers on
guard. The mutiny was quickly stilled by Oraá, and the commander of
the insurgents, a sergeant, Samaniego, and some of the other leaders
were shot on the twenty-second at the camp of Bagumbayang. The other
native soldiers remained loyal and aided in quelling the mutiny. See
Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, iii, pp. 58, 59, and note.
[39] The Spanish government decided to aid France against England,
and declared war against the latter power in June, 1779. The Spaniards
aided the Americans against the British in Florida and Mississippi,
and in March, 1780, captured Mobile. Martin A. S. Hume says in Modern
Spain (New York, 1900), p. 6: "As Aranda himself foresaw, and set forth
in a most remarkable prophecy, the aid lent by Spain to the revolt
of the English North American Colonies formed a dangerous precedent
for the separation of her own colonial dominions, and promoted the
establishment of a great Anglo-Saxon republic in America, which in
time to come should oust Spain from her last foothold in the New
World. 'This new federal republic,' wrote Aranda to Floridablanca,
'is, so to speak, born a mere pigmy, and has needed the support of two
powerful nations like France and Spain to win its independence. But the
day will come when it will grow into a giant, a terrible Colossus. It
will then forget the benefits it has received, and think only of its
own aggrandizement.'"
[40] See Mas's remarks in this connection, ante, pp. 32-34.
[41] Magistrates appointed to inquire into the circumstances of a
violent death.
[42] The college of San José sent out the following bishops: José
Cabral, bishop-elect of Nueva Cáceres; Rodrigo de la Cueva Jiron,
bishop of Nueva Segovia; Francisco Pizarro de Orellana, bishop of
Nueva Segovia; Jeronimo de Herrera, bishop of Nueva Segovia; Felipe
de Molina y Figueroa, bishop of Nueva Cáceres; Domingo de Valencia,
bishop of Nueva Cáceres; José de Andaya, bishop of Ovieda, Spain,
bishop-elect of Puebla de los Angeles, Mexico, and archbishop of
Mexico; and Ignacio de Salamanca, bishop of Cebu. The college also sent
out one auditor, one royal treasurer, two alcaldes-mayor; 39 Jesuits
(of whom three were martyrs), 4 provincials, 11 calced Augustinians,
10 Recollects, 8 Franciscans, and 3 Dominicans. These statistics are
given by Pablo Pastells in a letter in 1902, a translation of which
is in the possession of Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
[43] Vindel says (Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 756) that the
school of agriculture in Manila was organized by Rafael García
López. In regard to this school, which was founded in 1889, see
VOL. XLV, pp. 314-318.
[44] On May 4, 1869, a society was authorized for "the promotion of
instruction in the arts and trades in the Filipinas Islands;" but it
was of short duration, as schools of this sort were soon afterward
established by the government. (Vindel, ut supra, no. 1661; see also
VOL. XLV of this series.)
[45] Vindel mentions (Catálogo biblioteca filipina, p. 50)
"arrangements regarding the Philippine Institute, and chairs of
Tagálog, Bisayan, and practical land-surveying," in the Boletin
oficial del Ministerio de Ultramar, vol. i.
[46] "There was still at Manila another caste of mestizos, originating
from Japanese and the Indian women. These Japanese landed on the
island of Luçon, about fourscore years ago, in a dismantled vessel,
and destitute of everything; I saw them in 1767. They numbered,
I believe, at most sixty or seventy persons, all Christians. But as
the form of government doubtless did not please them, nor perhaps did
the Inquisition, they had demanded to return [to their own country];
and all, or nearly all, actually departed in that same year, 1767,
and returned to Japan, where they have probably resumed the faith of
their fathers." (Le Gentil, Voyage, ii, pp. 53, 54.) Concepción states
(Hist. de Philipinas, vii, p. 6) that in 1658 a number of Christian
Japanese were living in the barrio of San Anton, near Manila; some of
them had come on a Japanese ship that was driven to Cavite by storms,
and remained with their countrymen at Manila.
[47] A list of many practical plans and regulations for the benefit of
the Philippine Islands, appearing in the Boletin oficial del Ministerio
de Ultramar (Madrid, 1875-83) may be found in Vindel, ut supra, pp. 49,
50. Many other lists of interesting articles regarding the islands,
found in periodical publications, are given therein, pp. 46-62;
also in Beleña's Recopilacion (p. 67).
[48] Some credit should also be given to the Royal Philippine Company
(Real Compañía de Filipinas), which, though unsuccessful financially,
stimulated considerably the development of Philippine agriculture
between 1790 and 1820, after which year it did little until its
dissolution.
[49] Comyn's Estado says that in 1810 the number of Spaniards,
born in the Peninsula or elsewhere, and of Spanish mestizos, of
both sexes and all ages, classes, and occupations, did not exceed
3,500 to 4,000. Diaz Arenas (Memorías históricas y estadísticas
de Filipinas; Manila, 1850) quotes official figures showing 293
Spaniards settled in the provinces, outside of Manila and Tondo, in
1848; and he records 7,544 as the number of Spanish mestizos in the
islands, including Tondo, as Manila province was then called. Cavada
(Historia geográfica, geológica y estadística de Filipinas; Manila,
1876), taking his figures apparently from the governmental statistics
as to houses and their occupants for 1870, gives for that year 3,823
Spaniards (all but 516 of them males) from the Peninsula, and 9,710
"Filipino-Spaniards," the latter classification apparently including
Spanish mestizos with such pure-blooded Spaniards as had been born in
the Philippines. Among his Peninsular Spaniards would be included
over 1,000 members of religious orders, an approximately equal
number of soldiers, and the civil officials of Spanish blood (except
a relatively small number born in the islands themselves, mostly
in the minor categories of officials). J. F. del Pan (La poblacion
de Filipinas; Manila, 1883), and F. Cañamaque (Las íslas Filipinas;
Madrid, 1880) both report the parochial statistics of 1876 as showing
the total of Spaniards, apart from members of the religious orders,
the civil service, and the army and navy, to be 13,265; Cañamaque
speaks of this latter class as "Spaniards without official character
(Peninsulars and Filipinos)," and Del Pan calls them "persons not
subject to the capitation-tax on account of being of the Spanish
race." At least some of the Spanish mestizos in the islands would
appear to have been included in this total. A statistical résumé for
1898 (La Política de España en Filipinas, 1898, pp. 87-92) gives the
number of Spaniards in the Philippines at the end of Spanish rule
as 34,000 (of whom 5,800 are credited as officers and employees of
governments, 3,800 as the normal number of Spaniards in army and navy,
and 1,700 as of the clerical estate). These figures, like various other
estimates in pamphlets of recent years, are considerably exaggerated;
they are reconcilable only on the supposition that they include not
only Spaniards of Philippine birth, but also Spanish mestizos. In 1903,
only 3,888 Peninsular Spaniards were found in the archipelago. The
census of 1896 would have shown separately Spaniards and Spanish
mestizos; but it was not completed for all provinces, and has never
been published. The foregoing estimates and figures do, however,
show the great relative increase of Spaniards and Spanish influence
in the Philippines in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Apropos of Mr. LeRoy's note the following is of interest as regards
the population of the eighteenth century. "The number of Spaniards
who are in the part of Manila not occupied by the friars is very
inconsiderable; in 1767, they did not exceed eight hundred persons. It
can be said that the friars are masters of the city, for all the
houses, except perhaps five or six, belong to them. This makes a fine
revenue for them, since the houses are very dear--from two hundred to
four hundred piasters (one thousand to two thousand livres). They are
still dearer in the suburb of Santa Cruz, where they are worth at least
five hundred piasters, for it is there that all the foreign merchants
from India or China lodge. Manila is still peopled by the Tagálogs,
who are the natives at once of this city and of its bishopric; the
Tagálogs serve the Spaniards as domestics, or live by some petty
trade or occupation." (Le Gentil, Voyage, ii, p. 104.)--Eds.
[50] "The Spanish-Filipino Bank, the oldest bank in the islands, was
founded (1852) by an order of the Spanish government uniting the obras
pías funds of the four orders of friars in the Philippines." (Census
of Philippine Islands, iv, p. 541).--Eds.
[51] In the tariff revision of 1891, Spanish goods in Spanish ships
were made free of customs duties in Philippine ports; prior to
that time they had, as a rule, paid one-half the duties assessed on
foreign goods.
[52] In 1898, for instance, when the war with the United States began,
the governor-general of the Philippines who had recently negotiated
a peace with the insurgent chiefs, had just turned over his place to
a new man, a stranger in the islands, and sailed for home. The new
Liberal administration, which came into power in Spain in October,
1897, had also sent to the Philippines a new set of provincial
governors, to take the place of men who had served, in many cases,
less than two years. Some of these new governors had not gone to
their posts when Commodore Dewey's squadron arrived, and they were
consequently blockaded in Manila.
[53] This was accomplished on December 31, 1882--(but see post,
p. 141).--Eds.
[54] F. Jagor, Reisen in den Philippinen (Berlin, 1873), p. 287.
Also of interest in this connection are Jagor's remarks in the
following two citations from the same book (pp. 288 and 289,
respectively). "Government monopolies mercilessly administered,
grievous disregard of the creoles and the rich mestizos, and the
example of the United States, these were the principal causes of the
loss of the American possessions [of Spain]; and the same causes are
menacing the Philippines also. Of the monopolies sufficient account
has been given in the text. Mestizos and creoles are not, it is true,
shut out, as formerly in America, from all offices; but they feel that
they are deeply injured and despoiled by the crowds of office seekers
whom the frequent changes of ministers at Madrid bring to Manila. Also
the influence of the American elements is at least discernible on
the horizon, and will come more to the front as the relations of
the two countries grow closer. At present these are still of little
importance; in the meantime commerce follows its old routes, which
lead to England and the Atlantic ports of the Union. Nevertheless,
he who attempts to form a judgment as to the future destiny of the
Philippines cannot fix his gaze only on their relations to Spain;
he must also consider the mighty changes which within a few decades
are being effected on that side of our planet. For the first time in
the world's history, the gigantic nations on both sides of a gigantic
ocean are beginning to come into direct intercourse: Russia, which
alone is greater than two divisions of the world together; China,
which within her narrow bounds contains a third of the human race;
America, with cultivable soil enough to support almost three times the
entire population of the earth. Russia's future rôle in the Pacific
Ocean at present baffles all calculations. The intercourse of the two
other powers will probably have all the more important consequences
when the adjustment between the immeasurable necessity for human
labor-power on the one hand, and a correspondingly great surplus
of that power on the other, shall fall on it as a problem." "But in
proportion as the commerce of the western coast of America extends
the influence of the American elements over the South Sea, the
ensnaring spell which the great republic exercises over the Spanish
colonies will not fail to assert itself in the Philippines also. The
Americans appear to be called upon to bring the germ planted by the
Spaniards to its full development. As conquerors of the New World,
representatives of the body of free citizens in contradistinction to
the nobility, they follow with the axe and plow of the pioneer where
the Spaniards had opened the way with cross and sword. A considerable
part of Spanish America already belongs to the United States, and has,
since that occurred, attained an importance which could not have been
anticipated either during Spanish rule or during the anarchy which
ensued after and from it. In the long run, the Spanish system cannot
prevail over the American. While the former exhausts the colonies
through direct appropriation of them to the privileged classes, and
the metropolis through the drain of its best forces (with, besides,
a feeble population), America draws to itself the most energetic
elements from all lands; and these on her soil, free from all
trammels, and restlessly pushing forward, are continually extending
further her power and influence. The Philippines will so much the
less escape the influence of the two great neighboring empires, since
neither the islands nor their metropolis are in a condition of stable
equilibrium. It seems desirable for the natives that the opinions
here expressed shall not too soon be realized as facts, for their
training thus far has not sufficiently prepared them for success in
the contest with those restless, active, most inconsiderate peoples;
they have dreamed away their youth." Some writers have carried the
evolution one step farther, as for instance, the following: See Count
Edward Wilczek's interesting study on "The historical importance of
the Pacific Ocean," in H. F. Helmolt's History of the World (N. Y.,
1902), i, pp. 566-599; he predicts a future contest which "will
have to decide whether, by the permanent occupation of the northern
Pacific, the white race shall accomplish its world-embracing destiny,
or whether, with the goal already in sight, and for the first time
in its history, it will have to make way for a stronger"--that is,
for the yellow race, in the form of Japan and China.--Eds.
[55] See the most important of these decrees in our educational
appendix, VOL. XLVI.--Eds.
[56] In 1899 and 1900, the American government continued the
subsidies to the Jesuits to sustain the normal school and Manila
Ateneo. With the establishment, however, of an educational system
under the Taft Commission, the subsidy to the Ateneo was withdrawn
and a Manila public high school established. The normal school was
established in the old buildings of the exposition of 1887, and was
the first special school organized under Dr. Atkinson. The vacation
normal school is due to Dr. Barrows, who established it in the spring
vacation of 1901, in order that the teachers from the provinces might
be gathered together for brief instruction in new methods, exchange
of ideas, and general inspiration. The regular normal school has
been a very notable feature since 1901, and in some ways the most
striking thing in the new school system. Its woman's dormitory has
been a center of Filipino gatherings and a constant theme of praise
by the Filipino press. (From a previous communication to the Editors
by J. A. LeRoy.) See VOL. XLVI, p. 95, note.--Eds.
[57] This exchange of Mindanao missions by the Recollects for parishes
in and around Manila and in Mindoro was closely connected with the
pro-seculars' campaign made in Manila and Madrid at that time--Father
Burgos of the Cathedral standing out preëminently on behalf of
his fellows the native priests, a direct step in the way toward
his execution in connection with the Cavite mutiny of 1872. (James
A. LeRoy, in a personal letter dated January 6, 1906.) See XXVIII,
pp. 342, 343.--Eds.
[58] See post, pp. 170, 171, note 119. With the three priests was also
executed one Francisco Saldúa. Máximo Inocencio, Enrique Paraíso, and
Crisanto de los Reyes were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Others
were also condemned to death, some of whose sentences were commuted to
life imprisonment. The following persons were deported to Marianas:
Antonio María Regidor, 8 years; Máximo Paterno; Agustín Mendoza,
parish priest of the district of Santa Cruz de Manila; Joaquín Pardo
de Tavera, a regidor of Manila and university professor, 6 years. Some
of the latter and others lost their qualification as advocates of
the Audiencia.--Eds.
[59] In a pamphlet by Manrique A. Lallave (Madrid, 1872), an
ex-Dominican missionary from Filipinas, he declares that "the friars
at that time possessed property to the value of eleven millions of
pesos fuertes." (Vindel, Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 1846.)--Eds.
[60] See post, p. 182.--Eds.
[61] Bibliography of the Philippine Islands (Bureau of Insular Affairs,
Washington, 1903), comprising under one cover these two volumes which
were also published separately by the Library of Congress: A List of
Books (with references to periodicals) on the Philippine Islands in the
Library of Congress, compiled by A. P. C. Griffin; and the Biblioteca
Filipina of Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera. For information regarding
general bibliographies and bibliographical lists of Philippina,
see VOL. LIII of this series.
[62] Reference has already been made in another footnote to the
German original; English and Spanish translations of this work, both
defective, were also published. It has not been deemed necessary in
this brief sketch to append the bibliographical details, except when
they may not be found in Bibliography of the Philippine Islands,
under the names of the authors herein cited.
[63] Particularly his Las colonias españolas de Asia. Islas Filipinas
(Madrid, 1880).
[64] It is closely related also with the political questions of this
period, with the friar controversy, and with matters of administration
as such.
[65] El Diario de Manila was established in 1848, a name which was
changed to El Boletin oficial de Filipinas in 1852, and again to the
former name in 1860; papers called El Comercio were founded in 1858
(probably), and in 1869; La Oceanía Española, in 1877 (which succeeded
El Porvenir Filipino); La Voz Española was founded in 1888 under the
name of La Voz de España, the issue of March 5, 1892, marking the
change of name. See Retana's El periodismo.--Eds.
[66] See also Griffin's List for a list of periodical articles
(mainly from American magazines, although some foreign titles are
also noted.)--Eds.
[67] Retana reproduced this Reglamento de Asuntos de Imprenta of 1857
in volume i of the Archivo. Retana, who was for a time a newspaper man
in Manila, says it was not known by the newspaper editors or by the
political censor; in other words, the censor did about as he pleased.
[68] The Filipino press of propaganda, published abroad, will merit
attention further on, when "Reform and Revolution" are discussed.
[69] Census of the Philippine Islands, 4 vols. (Washington, 1903). In
vol. ii, pp. 17-22, are tables comparing Spanish estimates and
censuses, with references to such.
[70] Archipiélagos filipinos en la Oceanía, Censo de población
veríficado el 31 de Diciembre de 1887 ... (Manila, 1889).
[71] For population alone, there may also be mentioned the table of
various civil and ecclesiastical estimates, based mainly on the returns
of the tributes, in Sancianco y Goson's El progreso de Filipinas
(Madrid, 1881), pp. 175-186; and the summaries of five Spanish censuses
and tables of the 1896 census in Report of the Philippine Commission,
1901, ii, appendices HH and II.
[72] If possible, Pardo de Tavera's bibliographical comments should
be checked up by those made by Retana to some of these works in his
various bibliographies.--Eds.
[73] See Library of Congress List, etc., pp. 9-11.
[74] Cited in Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca as nos. 269 and 2,003. The
American consular reports are given in a separate table in the Library
of Congress List, pp. 178-180. Only those of Consul Webb, 1888-90,
need be mentioned as containing some data of interest.
[75] Both the papers cited have subsequently been reproduced in
several other government bulletins, which will be cited in their
places. E. W. Hardin's Report on the Financial and Industrial
Condition of the Philippines (Senate Document no. 169, 55th Congress,
3rd session) was similarly reproduced. All three of these documents,
which were useful to American inquirers immediately following the
events of 1898, may be disregarded by the student who resorts to the
Spanish and other sources herein given.
[76] A 36-page pamphlet, Commercial Progress in the Philippine Islands
(London, 1905), by A. M. Regidor y Jurado and J. W. T. Mason, is quite
inaccurate and in part gossipy, but may be noted as containing some
nineteenth-century data on foreign traders and bankers not elsewhere
in print.
[77] Spanish Public Land Laws in the Philippine Islands and their
History to August 13, 1898 (Washington, Bureau of Insular Affairs,
1901). These laws and conditions of land tenure under Spanish rule
are also succinctly summarized by D. R. Williams in Official Handbook
of the Philippines (Manila, 1903); in other respects the Handbook,
a Washington library compilation prepared for the St. Louis Exposition
of 1904, has no independent value and is often inaccurate.
[78] According to Retana, who cites this Informe emitido ... sobre
bancos hipotecarios (Madrid, 1889) in the Estadismo, ii, p. 151*. Pardo
de Tavera (Biblioteca, p. 76) says that this report led to the official
decision that, in view of the general lack of titles, the establishment
of land banks would be premature.
[79] Following are special citations from his El progreso de Filipinas:
Land tax, and arguments therefor, pp. 9, 10, 28-34, 48-53, 56, 65-80;
tax on real estate in towns, pp. 81-89; deficiency of provisions for
obtaining title to unoccupied lands, pp. 48-53, 54-56, 57-66, 222-223;
data (mostly from Jordana y Morera) regarding development of forest
and agricultural resources and amount of cultivated land, province by
province, to 1873-74, pp. 187-204; value assigned to land, province by
province, result of official inquiry of 1862, pp. 212-223; Filipino
laborer and his share in development of agricultural resources,
pp. 223-237; rates of interest on real-estate loans, pp. 253-254;
land measures in use, pp. 257-258.
[80] The intemperate and fantastic writings of "Quioquiap" (Pablo
Feced) in El Diario de Manila and La Política de España en Filipinas
are in point.
[81] See also ibid., i, pp. 150-159.
[82] These tables entirely supersede those presented, earlier in the
period of American occupation, in the Monthly Summary of Commerce
and Finance of the United States for November, 1899, and July, 1901
(which also reproduced the memoranda of Greene, Tornow, and others,
already cited). Some of the tables presented in Bulletin No. 14,
Section of Foreign Markets, Department of Agriculture (Washington,
1898) give in convenient form Philippine trade statistics by countries,
both for imports and exports.
[83] El progreso de Filipinas, pp. 238-244, foreign commerce, entry
of Spanish and foreign vessels, etc., for 1868; p. 244, table of
exports for 1871, in quantities (66 per cent of the hemp and over
50 per cent of the sugar going to the United States in that year);
pp. 245-249, internal trade and inter-island shipping; pp. 253-255,
rates of interest and kinds of money in circulation; pp. 255-258,
weights and measures in use (about 1880).
[84] Questions of customs administration belong with the subject of
Spanish administration, further on.
[85] It is another instance of the old tendency to emphasize
political evils and remedies, and neglect economic considerations,
in the Philippines. The labor monograph of V. S. Clark, above cited,
brings out the fact that higher wages for Filipinos since 1898 are
in part only a compensation for the previous penalization of the
Filipino laborer through a declining medium of exchange.
[86] In Report of Philippine Commission, 1904, iii, pp. 487-503;
and ibid., 1905, iv, pp. 71-87.
[87] See M. Sastrón, La insurrección en Filipinas (Madrid, 1897 and
1901), chap. i, for a summary of the reforms of the '80's and 1893.
[88] It is thus that, from their point of view, the Philippine friars
and their Spanish clerical-conservative defenders have branded the
Filipino campaign, eventually for separation, as entirely produced
and fostered by Spanish Liberalism.
[89] List of Books (with references to periodicals) relating to the
theory of colonization, government of dependencies, protectorates,
and related topics, by A. P. C. Griffin (Washington, 1900). It is
inserted also in O. P. Austin's Colonial administration, 1800-1900
(from Summary of Commerce and Finance of the United States for March,
1903).
[90] The Statesman's Yearbook and such general works of reference
will merit consultation; but it should be remarked that, prior to
1898, encyclopedias, annuals, etc., commonly treated the Philippines
rather cursorily and not always accurately, while, generally speaking,
the Spanish colonies have had very inadequate consideration at the
hands of English and American authors and editors. For the special
subjects of military and naval organization, see Salinas y Angulo's
Legislación militar (Manila, 1879), and Rodriguez Trujillo's Memoria
sobre la Marina (Manila, 1887), both cited in the Bibliography.
[91] Published in La España Oriental, Manila, 1893, and La Política
de España en Filipinas, 1893-94. See Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca,
no. 1496; note also his no. 2702, under Tiscar.
[92] It is to be emphasized, however, that this abstract shows only
the framework of that government, and that just as it stood (on paper)
at the beginning of 1898, its author not having traced the development
of that organism even for a few years back nor learned that some of
the provisions he outlined were not really in practice.
[93] Grifol y Aliaga (vol. XLVI, p. 109, note 48) is very naïve,
seeking to waive away the effect of the Maura law's plain provisions
in the same way as did some friar and other writers. In his decree
providing regulations for carrying out the law, Blanco explained that
the parish priests were to retain their inspection of the schools as
regards the teaching of religion and morals. The municipal tribunals
were expressly created as schoolboards--an institution of which Zamora
(Las corporaciones religiosas) bitterly complains. In reality, however,
this reform remained a dead letter in most villages, except in the
provinces most advanced in the propaganda, where the Filipino local
officials asserted their power of regulation (Bulakan, Batangas,
Manila, etc.). (From a previous communication from Mr. LeRoy.)--Eds.
[94] Pedro A. Paterno's Regimen municipal de las islas Filipinas
(Madrid, 1893), reproducing Minister Maura's decree in its original
form, with notes, was therefore premature. Except in some of its
comments, however, this work is at least not merely ridiculous, as
are this author's writings on an imaginary primitive religion and
civilization of the Filipinos. Don Pedro has a lively imagination,
too lively for politics and history, but capable of providing good
entertainment when he exercises it as a dramatist. One finds him much
more pleasing in this rôle than as a Filipino reform propagandist,
though in the latter capacity he seems to have been taken very
seriously by Doctor Schurman and Mr. Foreman, and by various Spanish
officials before them, including, for a time, Governor-Generals Primo
de Rivera and Augustín.
[95] Once more, the Manila press since 1898 merits attention here. The
Filipino press has not been always fair in treating of the old régime,
but both in the Filipino and the Spanish press of Manila since 1898
some things have been brought to light which were either suppressed
for private gossip or not frankly discussed at the time of their
conference.
[96] Notes from his Progreso de Filipinas: Lack of public improvements
and defects of public services, especially education, pp. 26-34;
defects in administration of justice and its expensiveness,
pp. 134-136; lack of development of material resources, pp. 205-211,
253-254; restriction of opportunities for Filipino laborers, and the
evils of caciquism, pp. 212-237. A study of caciquism (subjection
of the masses) and its deep roots in Philippine social, economic,
and political conditions may be found in J. A. LeRoy's Philippine
Life in Town and Country (New York, 1905), chap. vi; also the same
in part by the same author in the Atlantic Monthly for March, 1905.
[97] Though unsupported evidence here given, particularly when
obviously gossip or when coming from partisan witnesses, is to
be accepted with caution. F. H. Sawyer's reminiscences of the
administrations of various governor-generals are subject to the same
caution, except where the author plainly speaks from a personal
knowledge of the facts; nevertheless, that such opinions on the
highest officials of the islands could pass current even as gossip
among Spaniards and foreigners in Manila is in itself alone very
significant of the tone of public life in the islands. Note Sawyer
also on the administration of justice, and Foreman on the "pickings"
of officials in the provinces.
[98] Note especially Military Governor of the Philippine Islands on
Civil Affairs (Report War Dept., 1900, i, part 10), pp. 8-13, 79 et
seq. See also, for defects and corruption in the customs administration
up to 1881, Sancianco y Goson, pp. 36-37, 125-131.
[99] Part of this money was spent in campaigns against the Moros,
and perhaps for other purposes not covered by the budget of ordinary
expenses. See La Política de España en Filipinas, v, no. 116,
for an account of progress in this work up to 1895. The press of
Manila has published during the past few years various articles on
the funds collected by subscription in Spain and the Philippines
for the relief of the sufferers from the earthquake in Manila in
1863. See particularly El Renacimiento, Manila, September 18, 1906,
for a report on the subject by Attorney-General Araneta. It would
there appear that nearly $450,000 were collected; by 1870, only some
$30,000 had been distributed to the sufferers themselves; whether they
received further shares at a later date does not appear, but $80,000
were loaned from this fund to the obras pías in 1880, and about
$15,000 were used for cholera relief in 1888-89. Governor-General
Ide instructed the attorney-general to demand the return of the
$80,000 from the obras pías, and recommended that, when $50,000 of
this fund had been recovered, distribution of it among those who
suffered losses in 1863 should begin--almost a half-century later,
and under another government!
[100] The new industrial (or income) taxes had, however,
been inaugurated before he wrote. See his Progreso de Filipinas,
pp. vii, 81-87, 93-94, on this subject; pp. 5-15, for extracts from
a project of economic reforms in 1870 (which see, in the Biblioteca,
no. 2041); pp. 9, 10, 28-34, 48-53, 56, 65-80, 81-89, arguments
for a real-property tax; pp. 6-10, 100-124, 142-143, the tribute;
pp. 133-143, miscellaneous taxes; pp. 142-143, local taxes proper.
[101] Dr. Schurman drew from Spanish official publications the budget
of 1894-95 for his exposition of the former Philippine government
(Report of Philippine Commission, 1900, i, pp. 79-81), and this has
been considerably quoted, with the assumption that it represented
the full cost of government, in recent comparisons with the American
régime. Sawyer (in an appendix) gives the budget of 1896-97, with just
a note showing that charges for collection and for local government
made the actual collections for the poll-tax considerably larger than
the insular budget showed. Foreman, in his 1899 and 1906 editions,
only reproduces from his first edition a fragmentary statement of the
1888 budget, without showing that this was only partial and without
developing the later changes and increases in taxes. Retana, in the
Estadismo, apéndice H, under Rentas é impuestos del Estado, gives the
general totals of the budgets of 1890 and 1893-94 (likewise net totals
for the central government alone). See Sancianco y Goson for proposed
budget for 1881-82. The insular budget was published annually at Madrid
under the title Presupuestos generales de gastos é ingresos de las
islas Filipinas. The budget was made up at Madrid for each fiscal year,
and put into effect by a royal decree (after its receipt in Manila,
some few months after the beginning of the fiscal year which it was
to govern). Some changes or additions were allowed to be made by the
governor-general in imperative circumstances; otherwise the effort was
to regulate Philippine finances just the same as if the islands were
a province of the centralized government of the Peninsula itself. The
folio volume of Presupuestos published at Madrid, running to several
hundred pages, are valuable for giving in minute detail the expected
items of expenditures, down to the last petty employee on salary; but
they can give, of course, only the estimate of the revenue expected
under each item, and actual collections sometimes varied considerably
from these figures. Above all, these Presupuestos bear out the general
remark that the Spanish budget as published tends to conceal rather
than to reveal the actual burden resting on the people. They are not
budgets for the insular government alone, hence the budgets for the
city of Manila and for the local governments (provinces and towns),
published separately in some years at Manila, must be consulted to get
total net collections for all branches of government. In addition, one
must dig out for himself from the laws governing taxation, etc., and
from the archives the data regarding fees for collection, notarial,
legal and other fees accruing to private pockets, surcharges for
special purposes, etc.
[102] The subject can not be thoroughly discussed here. For some
data and references thereon, see contributions by the writer
to the Political Science Quarterly, xxi, pp. 309-311, and xxii,
pp. 124-125. Regarding ecclesiastical dues and exactions, the share
of the ecclesiastical establishment in local revenues, etc., see,
besides citations there given, M. H. del Pilar's La soberanía monacal
en Filipinas (Barcelona, 1888, and Manila, 1898).
The above contributions cited by Mr. LeRoy are his criticism of
H. Parker Willis's Our Philippine Problem (New York, 1905), and his
Rejoinder to Mr. Willis's Reply to that criticism (March, 1907). See
also Mr. Willis's remarks on this matter in his Reply (pp. 116-119),
which have been fully met in Mr. LeRoy's Rejoinder.--Eds.
[103] In confirmation of the first statement above, and for details
regarding this debt, see Senate Document no. 62, 55th Congress,
3rd session, protocols 11, 12, 15, and 16; ibid., p. 412 (Greene's
memorandum); Senate Document no. 148, 56th Congress, 2nd session, for
cablegrams between the President and the American peace commissioners
from October 27, 1898, on, especially p. 44 (details of this loan);
also Sastrón's La insurrección en Filipinas (Madrid, 1901), pp. 284,
285.
[104] Special attention may be directed to Clifford Stevens Walton's
The Civil Law in Spain and Spanish-America, including Cuba, Puerto
Rico and the Philippines (Washington, 1900).
[105] Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca, no. 1770.
[106] Data obtained from Justices Arellano and Torres cover very well
the judicial organization of recent years. For earlier years, it is
often in error, the Washington editor having tried to improve the
manuscript with data drawn from various sources and presented without
a real understanding of the legal, judicial, and administrative system
of Spain and the Spanish colonies.
[107] See especially Bulletin no. 22 of the Bureau of Government
Laboratories (Manila, 1905), for a catalogue of the new scientific
library in Manila.
[108] It may be said, however, that the real foundations of that
science are only now being laid in the Philippines. Most of the Spanish
writings in this line are, speaking strictly from the scientific
point of view, unreliable or, in some cases, worthless. Blumentritt,
who has written most voluminously on this subject, was never in the
Philippines, but drew largely from these Spanish sources, and he has
confused the subject rather than shed light upon it. The German and
French scientists who visited the islands were, in most instances,
not primarily ethnologists, and have done but fragmentary work in
this field. Needless to say, all these sources must be consulted,
especially for the historical side of the subject; but the science
of Philippine ethnology proper is still in its infancy.
[109] Especially in the appendix of VOL. XLI.--Eds.
[110] Appendix vii to report of Major-General G. W. Davis, commanding
the division of the Philippines (Rept. War Dept., 1903, iii,
pp. 379-398).
[111] La Política de España en Filipinas reproduces Retana's eulogy
of Weyler (Retana was made a deputy for Cuba in the Cortes during the
Weyler régime in Cuba) and occasional articles on the Blanco campaign
in the Lake Lanao region, among which note (vi, p. 18) Blanco's letter
of Oct. 19, 1895, describing the beginning of a railroad and other
work around the lake. Ibid., vii, p. 170, has the protocol of April
1, 1907, whereby Germany and Great Britain accept a modification of
the Sulu archipelago protocol of 1885, permitting the prohibition by
Spain of traffic with Joló in arms or alcoholic liquors. The projects
to colonize Mindanao put forward in connection with the Lanao campaign
have been mentioned.
[112] The reports are in the annual Report of the Philippine
Commission. Among the special publications, note Jenks's The Bontoc
Igorot (Manila, 1905), chap. ii, for some notes on Spanish relations
with the Igorots.
[113] Its columns could also be used to further personal interests, as
already shown in the case of Weyler. Retana has since 1898 executed a
"right-about-face," as has been best shown in his recent biographical
study of Rizal. Herein, in various editorial notes in vol. v of the
Archivo (1905), and in various letters to the Filipino press of Manila,
he has many times virtually apologized for his political writings
up to 1898, has declared that he was always a "Liberal" at heart,
and has thus written an impugnation of his own writings in behalf
of friar-rule. In a letter to I. de los Reyes (reproduced from El
Grito del Pueblo of Manila in El Renacimiento, Manila, July 24, 1906),
Retana carries this note to the point of practically abject retraction,
saying he never has been really a Catholic, never confessed since his
marriage, etc., and referring to Rizal (whom he bitterly reviled from
1892 to 1898) as a "saint," etc. Regarding Retana and Blumentritt,
see also a letter by J. A. LeRoy in the Springfield Republican for
July 7, 1906.
In this connection see Retana's opening paragraphs in his Vida y
escritos del Dr. José Rizal, in Nuestro Tiempo for 1904-06.--EDS.
[114] This work furnished almost the sole basis for the discussion
of the work of the friars by Stephen Bonsal in the North American
Review of Oct., 1902; but Mr. Bonsal, whose article is thus entirely
one-sided, did not state the source of his information. More than
this, Mr. Bonsal has, in translating, made even stronger some of the
extreme claims of Friar Zamora. The latter (pp. 483-498) cites praise
for the friars from various governors-general: Gándara (1866), De
la Torre (1871), Moriones (1877), Weyler (1891), and Primo de Rivera
(1898). It is to be hoped he has not garbled them all as he did the
statement of Primo de Rivera, omitting its most significant expressions
of opinion and exactly reversing its import. Moreover, Mr. Bonsal,
in translating these passages from Zamora, thought it best to leave
out, for his American readers, the statement by Weyler. Much the same
ground as covered by the claims of Zamora is traversed, with citations,
by J. A. LeRoy in the Political Science Quarterly for December, 1903
(also in the same author's Philippine Life, chaps. v and vii). See
also, in re extreme claims for the friars that they brought about
all the internal development, settlement of towns, development of
agriculture, etc., Sancianco y Goson, El progreso de Filipinas,
pp. 212-223, official data as to agriculture and lands by provinces
in 1862, at the beginning of the modern era of trade and industry.
[115] The official correspondence in the negotiations of Governor
Taft with the Vatican, above cited, may also be mentioned here as
discussing the question of recognition of the native clergy in the
Philippines, and, in general, the status which the friars came to
have there. Many loose assertions made with regard to the friars'
titles to the Philippines will be corrected by a perusal of the legal
report on their titles cited above.
[116] The political phase of the attack on the friars' privileges
which rapidly developed, especially in view of the events of 1868, are
discussed from the friars' side in the pamphlet Apuntes interesantes
(1870), condemned by Pardo de Tavera (no. 91) and ascribed to
Barrantes. Retana (Estadismo, ii, p. 135*) praises the work and
ascribes it to Friar Casimiro Herrero. A general argument against the
friars in those times is that of Manrique Alonso Lallave, Los frailes
en Filipinas (Madrid, 1872), parts of which were reproduced in El
progreso, Manila, August 8-11, 1901. His figures on friar revenues,
etc., are grossly exaggerated. He was an excloistered Dominican,
later turned Protestant in Spain, and went to the Philippines as a
Protestant missionary in 1890, being poisoned in Manila, according
to V. Diaz Perez (Los frailes de Filipinas, Madrid, 1904, p. 10).
[117] See the Biblioteca, nos. 2,000 and 2,001. Both put forward the
claims of the Filipinos on grounds of ecclesiastical rule and practice
(the Council of Trent particularly), but it is to be feared that the
author's judgment on matters of authority purely ecclesiastical is
sometimes warped by political or personal feeling. The same author's
Mi último grito de alarma (Bigan [Luzon], 1903) is an answer to
Constitución apostólica Quae mare sinico (Manila, 1903), which is
a defense of the Pope's Philippine bull of 1903 by Presbyter Manuel
E. Roxas, a Filipino priest. Father Pons also had a part in Impugnación
de la censura impuesta ... al Presbítero Adriano García (Manila, 1900),
a notable case which much aroused the Filipino clergy in Chapelle's
time. Here and in Defensa del clero filipino are references to the
torturing of native priests by the friars at Bigan in 1896, to make
them confess complicity in a supposed plot for revolt in Ilokos.
[118] Biblioteca, no. 1689. Note also no. 1675.
[119] For the latter, consult especially La Iglesia Filipina
Independiente, organ of the schism, which was published in some sixty
numbers between October 11, 1903, and early in 1905; also the recent
pamphlet Documentos interesantes de la Iglesia Filipina Independiente
(Manila, 1906). The history of the religious question under the Malolos
government and guerrilla warfare, and especially of Aglipay's part in
it, has yet to be written from the documents (at least, unless those
who participated are more frank in future than in past statements).
[120] See for citations and statements (in part conflicting), about
the deportees of 1872, Montero y Vidal, Historia, iii, p. 591 and
footnote; Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca, nos. 1462 and 1463; and
notes by Felipe G. Calderón in supplements to El Renacimiento for
Aug. 11 and 18, Sept. 1 and 18, 1906. Several Filipino priests were
also deported with these civilians, who were, as has been noted in
our introduction, for the most part of Spanish, not of Malay, blood,
though of Philippine birth.
[121] Note especially Rizal's introduction to his novel El
Filibusterismo, as showing Filipino opinion on the matter. A story
circulated among the people to the effect that the friars brought
from Sambales province a native who looked like Father Gomez and who
impersonated the latter in order to implicate him in the mutiny at
the Cavite arsenal, with similar details, is related in an "Appeal
for Intervention" presented by certain Filipinos in Hongkong to the
Consul-General of the United States at that place in Jan., 1897. This
document, by the way, has never received notice in the United States
so far as known to the writer, who has a manuscript copy of it.
Rizal dedicated his novel El filibusterismo to the three priests
executed in consequence of the Cavite uprising of 1872. That dedication
is as follows: "The Church, by refusing to degrade you, has placed
in doubt the crime that has been imputed to you; the Government, by
surrounding your trials with mystery and shadows, causes the belief
that there was some error, committed in fatal moments; and all the
Philippines, by worshiping your memory and calling you martyrs,
in no sense recognize your culpability. In so far, therefore, as
your complicity in the Cavite mutiny is not clearly proved, as you
may or may not have been patriots, and as you may or may not have
cherished sentiments for justice and for liberty, I have the right
to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake
to combat. And while we wait expectantly upon Spain some day to
restore your good name and cease to be answerable for your death,
let these pages serve as a tardy wreath of dried leaves over your
unknown tombs, and let it be understood that every one who without
clear proofs attacks your memory stains his hands in your blood!" See
J. A. LeRoy's Philippine Life, pp. 149, 150.--Eds.
[122] No real attempt to sift the evidence in the case is known to
the writer. Montero y Vidal, Historia, iii, chap. xxvii (also read
the three preceding chapters), gives the version of one side, with
principal citations. Cf. Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca under these
names, and see his version in Census of the Philippine Islands,
i, pp. 575-579. His Reseña histórica de Filipinas suffered some
alterations as published in the Spanish edition of the Census, and
was separately printed at Manila in 1906, drawing forth a series
of articles in the Dominican periodical Libertas (by Friar Tamayo),
which also appeared in pamphlet form (Sobre una "Reseña histórica de
Filipinas," Manila, 1906). As regards the 1872 affair, Friar Tamayo
has drawn almost entirely from Montero y Vidal.
[123] As, for example, when José Rizal, yet a mere youth, scandalized
the friar and "patriotic" Spaniards in Manila by presenting verses
for a school celebration in Manila on "Mi patria" ("My fatherland").
[124] Rizal himself returned from Europe to the Orient in 1887,
and visited his home, but was persuaded by parents and friends to go
abroad again. He is said to have edited various circulars which were
sent from Hongkong and distributed in the Philippines.
[125] Marcelo del Pilar's pamphlet La soberanía monacal en Filipinas
(Barcelona, 1888; reprinted at Manila, 1898) was written with especial
reference to these incidents, documents regarding which are given as
appendices. Retana analyzed the 1888 petition against the friars,
and discussed its signers, in his pamphlet Avisos y profecías
(Madrid, 1892), pp. 286-308. See also Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca,
nos. 1597-1599 and 2807, the latter being a separate print of
the petition to the Queen, which appears in Del Pilar's pamphlet,
appendix ix. The reply of the petitioners to the accusation that they
really covered separatist aims under their attacks on friar-rule is
worth quoting:
"The aspiration for separation is contrary, Señora, to the interests
of the Filipinos. The topographical situation of the country, divided
into numerous islands, and the diversity of its regional dialects
demand the fortifying aid of a bond of union such as the ensign of
Spain accords; without such a bond, it would be daily exposed to a
breaking-up process hostile to its repose, and the very conditions of
exuberant fertility that its fields, mines, and virgin forests afford
would offer a powerful incentive to draw upon it international strife
to the injury of its own future."
[126] Becerra, as minister for the colonies, met in social reunions
with the Filipino circle of Madrid, and presented in the Cortes
projects for "assimilation," religious liberty, and the secularization
of education in the colonies and partial municipal reforms for the
Philippines which were the forerunners of the "Maura law."
[127] Friar Tamayo, in his reply to statements by Pardo de Tavera,
points out that Weyler's action was in consequence of decrees of the
courts (Sobre una "Reseña histórica de Filipinas," pp. 194-195). This
Kalamba episode seems to have had a connection with the royal order of
December 4, 1890 (under the new Conservative ministry) empowering the
religious orders to dispose of their estates without intervention of
the Crown, as had been provided by royal orders of 1834 and 1849. The
friars had begun to make transfers to private corporations (really
only fictitious "holding companies") before 1898.
[128] One finds guarded references to his enemies among the Filipinos
themselves in some of Rizal's private letters. The part played during
the propaganda by hints of treachery in camp, also of dishonesty
in the use of the funds raised by subscription in the Philippines,
is alluded to in various of the writings to be cited further on.
[129] Mariano Ponce (El Renacimiento, Manila, Dec. 29, 1906) tells of
an earlier periodical of propaganda, España en Filipinas, started at
Barcelona in 1887, Lopez Jaena being one of its board of editors. In
this connection may be mentioned Ang Kalayaan ("Liberty") organ of
the Katipunan, which published one number (perhaps two) in Tagálog
at the beginning of 1896, ostensibly in Yokohama, but really on a
secret press at Manila. Data about it, and a translation of some
of its contents into Spanish may be found in Retana's Archivo, iv,
Documentos políticos de actualidad, no. 15. Of Gracíano Lopez Jaena
may also be noted the pamphlet Discursos y artículos varios (Barcelona,
1891). He died in Spain in 1895.
[130] Epifanio de los Santos (one of the propagandists, now an
official under the Philippine government) is publishing a biography
and bibliography of M. H. del Pilar, reproducing documents and letters
in Plaridel (pseudonym of Del Pilar), a weekly started at Bulakan,
Luzon, Jan. 1, 1907. Besides La Solidaridad and La soberanía monacal,
the writings of Del Pilar most deserving mention are the pamphlets La
frailocracía filipina (Barcelona, 1889), and Los frailes en Filipinas
(Barcelona, 1889), by "Padpiuh."
[131] The two alleged translations published in the United States
under altered titles, do not merit even a mention; one is a garbled
and partial translation from the Spanish, the other an "adaptation"
from a French version of the original, boiled down to give the "story"
and thus shorn of the very descriptive passages and delicious bits
of satire which make the work notable, not as a novel, but as an
exposition.
[132] The various Spanish reprints (also a French one) of these novels
may be found cited in Retana's recent work, mentioned below. The best
to date, but no longer easily attainable, are editions of both novels
printed at Manila in 1900 by Chofre & Cia.
[133] There must also be seen the collections Documentos políticos de
actualidad in Retana's Archivo, iii and iv, especially those in the
latter volume connected with Rizal's trial and execution. Besides
the documents there reproduced--the diary of Rizal as a student in
Madrid (now in the library of Edward E. Ayer, of Chicago), notes and
documents furnished to Retana by various friends and coworkers of
Rizal (especially by Epifanio de los Santos)--use has been made in
Retana's latest work of data published in the Filipino press from 1898
to date, particularly in the special numbers which appear annually
in connection with the anniversaries of Rizal's execution (December
30). Among these may be named especially: La Independencia, Sept. 25,
1898, and Jan. 2, 1899 (Rizal's letters to Blumentritt regarding his
relations with Blanco and recall to Manila for trial; also quoted by
Foreman); La Patria, Dec. 30, 1899; La Democracia, Homenaje á Rizal,
separately printed at Manila, 1899, with seventeen Rizal articles,
sixteen reproduced from La Solidaridad; La Democracia, Dec. 29,
30 or 31, 1901-06, especially Dec. 29, 1905 (notes by Santos); El
Renacimiento, same dates; ibid., April 28, 1906 (notes by Retana);
ibid., May 26, June 2, and Dec. 29, 1906 (notes by Mariano Ponce);
ibid., Sept. 22, 1906 (notes by Edouardo Late); La Independencia,
Sept. 12, 14, 17, and 18, 1906 (Rizal's correspondence from his
place of exile at Dapitan with Father Pastells, the Jesuit superior,
regarding his religious belief, and incidentally his loyalty to Spain).
See also La Juventud (Barcelona), El Doctor Rizal y su obra, published
in 1897.--Eds.
[134] Morga, who gave a more truly scientific and in many respects
more favorable view of the Filipinos at the time of the conquest than
the later friar-chroniclers, had been neglected by Spanish writers
and students, and Rizal's purpose in bringing out the Sucesos was
primarily to correct many recent exaggerations in the literature
about the Filipinos. The bitterness with which his work (and even
Morga himself) was assailed revealed the political spirit of the times.
[135] Filipinas dextro de cien años, in La Solidaridad, reprinted in
Retana's Archivo, v.
[136] Library of Congress List, pp. 99, 100; and Pardo de Tavera's
Biblioteca, nos. 307, 308, 339 and 341 (also 1087).
[137] As also their tendency to assume that every Spanish official
who favored a more liberal political régime in the Philippines
did so because he was a Mason. The books of Sastrón and Castillo y
Jimenez (especially pp. 372-376, 382), also the friar pamphlets of
García-Barzanallana (Library of Congress List, p. 103) and Navarro
(Biblioteca, no. 1,811), are especially in point. See, for accounts
from the same point of view, the report of the Spanish officer of
the civil guard, Olegario Diaz, no. 77 of Documentos políticos in
the Archivo, iii, and other documents in that series in vols. iii,
and iv. Masones y ultramontanes, by Juan Utor y Fernandez (Manila,
1899), is a defense of Masonry by a Spaniard who founded lodges in the
Philippines. V. Diaz Perez in the pamphlet Los frailes de Filipinas
brings out from the same point of view some figures and other data
on Masonry in the Philippines.
[138] In his Memoria al Senado (Madrid, 1897), pp. 158-163.
[139] See Biblioteca, no. 2,665.
[140] Cited in their original draft, somewhat skeletonized, in the
notes furnished for Retana's Vida y escritos de José Rizal by E. de
los Santos, and by the latter also furnished in a manuscript copy to
the writer (of which see the translation post, pp. 217-226).
[141] Notes, etc., in El Renacimiento, Manila, Aug. 11 and 18,
Sept. 1 and 18, Oct. 13, 1906.
[142] This is especially true of the documents given by José M. del
Castillo y Jimenez, El Katipunan ó el Filibusterismo en Filipinas
(Madrid, 1897), pp. 114-117, 118-123, whence they have been quoted
by various other writers. It is to be noted, first, that the source
of these documents has never been given; they are not among the
extracts from the official records of the courts-martial reproduced
in Retana's Archivo, iii, and iv; and, finally, certain passages in
them read suspiciously as if prepared for the purpose of proving the
most exaggerated statements about the Katipunan and of magnifying
the scope and aims of the whole movement.
[143] See on this subject an article by J. A. LeRoy, Japan and the
Philippine Islands, in Atlantic Monthly, January, 1906. Primo de
Rivera, in his Memoria (1898), several times declares that the Cavite
insurgents of 1896-97 never had more than 1,500 firearms, including
rifles of all sorts, shotguns, and revolvers.
[144] This was allowed to appear even in the testimony as written
down by the Spanish military court (Retana's Archivo, iii, Documentos
políticos, nos. 35, 46, and 55).
[145] Besides Castillo y Jimenez, the Katipunan will be found discussed
in nearly all the sources to be cited on the 1896-97 insurrection. Data
on Bonifacio are scanty, but see El Renacimiento, April 23, 1903;
ibid., for the notes of Calderón, above cited, and of Aug. 30, 1906,
for a letter by Pio Valenzuela; also comments by A. Mabini and notes
by J. A. LeRoy in American Historical Review, xi, pp. 843-861. A
pamphlet, The Katipunan (Manila, 1902), by Francis St. Clair (?),
published in order to put before Americans the friar view of the
Filipino revolutionists, contains an English version of the report
of Olegario Diaz, cited above; its notes, drawn indiscriminately from
Retana, Castillo y Jimenez, and others, are full of errors.
[146] Friar Zamora (Las corporaciones religiosas en Filipinas,
pp. 334-325) says the forces of the Civil Guard sent to the Bisayas
were recruited not from the best men in the Filipino infantry
regiments, as the Governor-General ordered, but from the worst,
because these were the men whom the infantry colonels would let go. "We
parish-priests knew this, because the Civil Guard officers themselves
so told us; we saw, a few days after the posts were established
in the towns, that the majority of the Guards ought to be serving,
not in that corps of prestige, but in some disciplinary corps or in
the penitentiary. Nevertheless, from our pulpits we recommended and
eulogized what caused us disgust and displeasure, because it was so
ordered by the Governor-General to the provincial of the monastic
orders, and directly to the parish-priests themselves through the
medium of the governors of provinces."
[147] Joaquin Pellicena y Lopez, a Spanish journalist of Manila,
an admirer of the Jesuits (in some degree, perhaps, an exponent of
Jesuit views on recent years in the Philippines), in the pamphlet Los
frailes y los filipinos (Manila, Jan., 1901), defends the work of
the friars as a historical whole, but condemns their unwillingness
to progress with the times. As one proof that the rebellion of 1896
was against the friars, not against Spain, he says (pp. 27-28) that
Governor-General Polavieja's demand for 25,000 fresh troops in April,
1897, was, only a pretext to cover his resignation. Polavieja, who came
out to succeed Blanco and under whom Rizal was almost immediately
executed, had suddenly become convinced, says this journalist,
by reading correspondence of Aguinaldo with the Jesuit superior,
that the real cause of the trouble was the friars. As virtually
emissary and appointee of the friars, the inference is, Polavieja
concluded it would be impossible for him to settle the difficulties
successfully. The letters of Aguinaldo to Pio Pí are most interesting,
at least (See La Politica de España en Filipinas, vii, pp. 326-328).
[148] Notably the "removal" of Andrés Bonifacio in 1897 (regarding
which the Bonifacio note above cites incomplete data), and the
Biak-na-bató negotiation, treated below.
[149] Memoria que al Senado dirige el General Blanco acerca de los
últimos sucesos ocurridos en la isla de Luzón (Madrid, 1897).
[150] Ibid., pp. 64-68, 163-169. The real Blanco expresses himself in
these sentences: "For some people, proof of character and energy is
given by ordering executions right and left, at the pleasure of the
public, which is wont to be excited by passion; but, on the contrary,
energy is shown by resisting all kinds of abuses, and this one most of
all. To shoot men is very easy; the difficult thing is not to do it."
[151] See also Senate Document no. 62 for hearsay testimony by
foreigners at Paris regarding the "reign of terror," tortures, etc.;
and the books of Foreman and Sawyer for similar testimony.
[152] It is to be noted that some of the worst stories of Filipino
outrages upon Spanish captives, especially friars, later proved
to be rumors, or were exaggerated, though some brutalities were
committed. See La Democracia, Manila, July 12, 1906, for an alleged
confession by Friar Piernavieja (extorted from him, and dictated to him
in bad Spanish); ibid., July 14, 1906, for data regarding the execution
of him and two other friars in Cavite, in "reprisal" for the execution
of Rizal. Isabelo de los Reyes's pamphlet La religión del Katipunan
(Madrid, 1900), as also other writings in Filipinas ante Europa and
El defensor de Filipinas, a periodical edited at Madrid, 1899-1901 by
Reyes, may be mentioned here, as to Aguinaldo and the revolutionary
movement in general; statements therein are commonly unreliable.
[153] A few are in the List of the Library of Congress, under Political
and Social Economy, and American Occupation, 1898-1903. Some may be
found under the authors' names in Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca.
[154] So also La soberanía nacional, by D. Paradada, a Jesuit
(Barcelona, 1897), cited by Pardo de Tavera, as "stupid." In this
connection may be cited the following titles of Spanish writings
on the events following May, 1898, which contain some backward
glances upon the earlier phases of the Filipino revolution, also
some Spanish imprevision; Juan y José Toral.--El sitio de Manila
(Manila, 1898). José Roca de Togores y Saravia (secretary of
Council of Administration of Philippines).--El bloqueo y sitio de
Manila. V. M. Concas y Palau.--Causa instruida por la destrucción
de la escuadra de Filipinas y entrega del arsenal de Cavite. Notas
taquigráficas (Madrid, 1899). Isern.--Del desastre nacional y sus
causas (Madrid, 1899). Luis Morero Jerez.--Los prisioneros españoles en
poder de los tagalos (Manila, Dec., 1899). Carlos Ria-Baja (a prisoner
of the Filipinos).--El desastre filipino (Barcelona, 1899). Antonio
del Rio (a prisoner, Spanish governor of Laguna Province).--Sitio
y rendición de Santa Cruz de la Laguna (Manila, 1899). El Capitan
Verdades (Juan de Urquía).--Historia negra (Barcelona, 1899). Joaquín
D. Duran (a friar prisoner).--Episodios de la revolución filipina
(Manila, 1900). Ulpiano Herrero y Sampedro (a prisoner).--Nuestra
prisión en poder de los revolucionarios filipinos (Manila,
1900). Graciano Martinez (a friar prisoner).--Memoria del cautiverio
(Manila, 1900). C. P. (Carlos Peñaranda).--Ante la opinión y ante
la historia (Madrid, 1900); a defense of Admiral Montojo. Bernardino
Nozaleda (Archbishop of Manila).--Defensa obligada contra acusaciones
gratuitas (Madrid, 1904); especially for communications to Blanco,
1895-96, in re Katipunan, etc.
[155] First published under the title La insurrección en Filipinas
(Madrid, 1897), but the later volume, covering also the events of late
1897 and 1898 and the war with the United States, is more complete.
[156] Memoria dirigida al Senado por el Capitán General D. Fernando
Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte acerca de sa gestión en Filipinas. Agosto
de 1898 (Madrid, 1898). Pp. 121-158 cover the Biak-na-bató negotiation.
[157] E.g., In his Reseña verídica (only signed, not written by him),
an English translation of which appears in Congressional Record,
xxxv, appendix, pp. 440-445.
[158] See Congressional Record, xxxv, part 6, pp. 6092-94, for English
translations with explanatory notes. See also Senate Document no. 208,
56th Congress, 1st session, part 2, for the documents showing the
discussion of the junta of Filipinos at Hongkong in February and May,
1898, relative to the Biak-na-bató money payments and the obligations
thereby contracted toward the Spanish government. When the Philippine
Insurgent Records now in manuscript in the War Department, edited by
Captain J. R. M. Taylor, are published, all the captured documents
on this and later matters will be brought together.
[159] The same as has frequently been cited as the program of reforms
promised by Primo de Rivera, or even as being contained in an actual
treaty. Such statements have usually been reproduced from Foreman or
directly from insurgent proclamations. It is notable that in these
(e.g., that of the La Junta Patriótica, Hongkong, April, 1898) it
is only declared that Primo de Rivera "promised" these reforms, and
that he himself would remain in the Philippines during a three-year
"armistice," as a guarantee that the reforms would be carried out.
[160] The document cited by Foreman (2nd ed., pp. 546-547; 3rd ed.,
pp. 397-398), read in the Cortes in 1898, was not the final agreement
and the terms of payment are incorrect. It is either spurious, or
was superseded by the document, number 5 (of the same date) published
in the Congressional Record, ut supra. This appears to have been the
only document in Aguinaldo's possession bearing the signature of Primo
de Rivera, and it is merely a program prescribing the movements of
the rebel chiefs from December 14 on, terms of payments, surrender
of arms, amnesty, etc.
[161] Memoria, p. 125, cablegram of October 7, 1896.
[162] A slightly modified copy of this appeal is quoted by Primo de
Rivera (Memoria, pp. 140-141), and in Senate Document no. 208, pt. 2,
pp. 2, 3. The writer has a copy taken from one of the originals.
[163] Pardo de Tavera remarks (Rept. Phil. Comm., 1900, ii, p. 396)
that someone "forgot he had this sum of money in his pocket."
[164] Paterno has apparently given to Foreman a partial version of
the transaction for the latter's 1906 edition. Therein Foreman comes
around to imply that there was, after all, no "treaty" about reforms,
but he is still very much confused as to the money payments, etc.,
and almost every sentence contains an inaccuracy. He appears to have
seen the Diario de las Sesiones de Cortes, at least for one or two
speeches on this subject in 1898, when there were heated debates on
Philippine matters in the Cortes, but it is strange he never consulted
Primo de Rivera's detailed account of the affair.
[165] It was declared, however, in the press of Spain that Aguinaldo
projected a residence in Europe and had started for Paris when
Consul-General Pratt found him at Singapore in April, 1898.
[166] The change of Spanish administration in October, 1897,
bringing the Liberals again into power, with Moret, who had proposed
secularization of education in 1870, as Colonial Minister, was another
reason for expecting liberal measures in the Philippines as well as in
Cuba. It was this new ministry which urged Primo de Rivera to conclude
the Biak-na-bató negotiation speedily. One of the indications that
the Biak-na-bató documents in the War Department, above cited, were
"doctored" in some particulars is the insertion in Paterno's letter
to Aguinaldo of Aug. 9, 1897, of a reference to Moret being Minister;
the change of cabinet in Madrid occurred two months later.
[167] See the Memoria, pp. 159-176, on Reforms. In a temperate,
judicial way his discussion of the friars, from experience as
Governor-General from 1881-83 and during the insurrection, is perhaps
the severest arraignment they could receive, above all since it came
from a man appointed by a Conservative administration.
[168] See the Memoria, pp. 144-154. The incident is related in various
tones by other writers.
[169] See the pamphlets, reprinting articles from two of these
periodicals: Juan Caro y Mora, La situación del país (Manila, 1897),
series in La Oceanía Española; and El gran problema de las reformas en
Filipinas planteado por El Español, periódico diario de Manila (Manila,
1897). These articles appeared while the Biak-na-bató negotiation
was pending, and with full official sanction; but they touched the
religious question only very cautiously, and mostly to defend the
friars. The articles of Caro y Mora especially merit consideration in
connection with the study of Spanish administration in its last stage.
[170] See especially El Liberal, of Madrid. The writer has a copy
of a broadside dated at Madrid Jan. 26, 1898, Exposición elevada á
sa Majestad la Reina Regente sobre la insurrección en Filipinas,
by Vital Fité, a Spanish journalist, once provincial governor in
the Philippines. It represents friar-rule as the chief grievance,
but recites also abuses and defects of administration.
[171] See J. Pellicena y Lopez, Los frailes y los filipinos (Manila,
1901).
[172] An earlier indication of the friars' fear of coming reforms is
the pamphlet, Filipinas. Estudios de algunos asuntos de actualidad
(Madrid, 1897), by Eduardo Navarro, procurator of Augustinians,
who advocates "reform" by means of "a step backward."
[173] As, e.g., does Pellicena y Lopez, in Los frailes y los filipinos,
to prove that separation was not the aim of the propagandists. The
citation from Del Pilar's Soberanía monacal (paragraph v), is almost
identical with the paragraph of the 1888 petition to the Queen,
quoted already.
[174] The author of the preliminary report of the Schurman Commission,
Nov. 2, 1899, must simply have blindly followed Foreman and must
have somewhat misunderstood his Filipino informants, in order to make
these remarkable statements (Report, i, pp. 169, 172): "This movement
[rebellion of 1896] was in no sense an attempt to win independence,
but was merely an attempt to obtain relief from abuses which were
rapidly growing intolerable." "Now [June, 1898] for the first time
arose the idea of independence [in Aguinaldo's camp]."
[175] A quite sufficient answer, if there were not plenty of others,
to Dr. Schurman's statements quoted above is afforded by this passage
in a proclamation of Aguinaldo as Magdalo at Old Cavite (Kawit),
Oct. 31, 1896 (Castillo y Jimenez, El Katipunan, pp. 298-302): "The
revolutionary committee addresses to all Filipino citizens who love
their country a general call to arms for the proclamation of Filipino
liberty and independence as [a matter of] right and justice, and the
recognition of the new revolutionary government established by the
blood of its sons." And, on the same date, in a proclamation outlining
a rough revolutionary organization of Cavite province and each of
its towns, he says: "Filipinas witnesses today a fact unprecedented
in its history: the conquest of its liberty and of its independence,
the most noble and lofty of its rights." Yet, in March, 1897, Aguinaldo
discussed in the correspondence with the Jesuit superior, as already
mentioned, the reforms he thought the country asked, and expressly
disclaimed for the revolutionists the aim for independence. So also
his proclamations and interviews on leaving for Hongkong after the
pact of Biak-na-bató (see La Política de España en Filipinas, viii,
pp. 46, 47).
However, in a letter to Fray Tomas Espejo (undated, but written
probably in January, 1898), Aguinaldo says: "A great work is this,
which demands great sacrifices, followed by the shedding of quantities
of blood. But what matters that, for it is very little compared to the
sublime and holy end which we hold before ourselves in attempting to
take arms against España. For this we have resolved to sacrifice our
lives until we shall hear issue from the mouths of our compatriots,
the blessed phrase 'All hail, Filipinas! forever separated from España
and conquered through the heroism of their inhabitants.'" (La Política
de España, viii, p. 44).--Eds.
[176] See Sastrón's account of Biak-na-bató in chapters v and vi
of his Insurrección en Filipinas for some fragments of documents on
this subject.
[177] A royal decree of Jan. 22, 1784, by Carlos III, declared the
ex-Jesuits competent to acquire and hold property; and, in the case of
those secular coadjutors who had married, to bequeath their property
to their heirs. That monarch died in 1788; and was succeeded by his
eldest son, as Carlos IV. In Oct. 1797, the government learned that
the Spanish ex-Jesuits were determined to return to Spain, on account
of the persecutions and even death which menaced them in the Genoese
territories, owing to a change in the government there, and that some
of them had already reached the Spanish ports; it therefore decided
that they should be allowed to remain in the country, but must live in
certain abandoned convents. The Jesuits objected to this, and finally
the government permitted them (1798) to retire freely to the homes
of their families or into any convents they might choose, save that
they were not allowed to reside in Madrid or other royal seats. "Many
ex-Jesuits returned to their fatherland, and others decided to remain
in Italia; but this situation did not last long, for in the year 1801
another decree was issued condemning them anew to proscription." Orders
were given that within one week all Jesuits should leave their homes
and present themselves at Alicante or Barcelona, where new orders
would be given them. Some fathers advanced in years were allowed to
remain in Spain; but all the rest were for the second time shipped
to Italy, where they suffered great hardship. In 1808 the Spanish
government felt more leniently toward these unfortunate exiles,
considering, moreover, the difficulty of furnishing their pensions,
and the fact that all those moneys were thus taken out of Spain to
foreign countries, to find their way ultimately into the hands of
her enemies; and a royal decree by Fernando VII, dated Nov. 15, 1808,
granted permission to those Jesuits who desired to return to Spain,
with the same pension which they had been receiving. After the war
between Spain and France was ended, urgent requests were made to
Fernando VII by various personages prominent in ecclesiastical,
educational, and municipal affairs that he would reëstablish in
his dominions the Society of Jesus; and permission was given by a
royal decree dated May 9, 1815, for the Jesuits to have houses in
the towns and cities which had asked for them. A year later, after
various preparations for this change had been made by the government,
another decree extended the reëstablishment to all the towns where
the Jesuits had formerly had their institutions. "In virtue of this,
all the Spanish Jesuits who were residing in Italy returned to España,
at the expense of the court. All these decisions were adopted in
España in fulfilment of the bull of Pius VII dated Aug. 7, 1814,
Solicitudo omnium ecclesiarum, by which the Jesuits were reëstablished
in all the Catholic countries--that of Clement XIV, which decreed
the extinction of the order, being thereby annulled. [177A] Not five
years had passed after the reëstablishment of the Society of Jesus in
España when, the revolution of 1820 having been successful, the Cortes
assembled; and the Spanish monarch, by decree of September 6 in that
same year, again suppressed the [Jesuit] institute, together with the
other monastic orders, allowing the Jesuits, however, liberty to
reside in España. Fernando communicated to his Holiness the above
decision, and Pius VII replied in a letter of September 15, expressing
the displeasure with which he had received the tidings; but in 1823,
the constitutional government having been destroyed, the regency
issued a decree on June 11, reëstablishing the Society and the rest
of the regular orders in the same condition in which they were before
March 7, 1820. Fernando VII died on Sept. 29, 1833, and the civil war
began; and on July 17, 1834, occurred the lamentable massacre [177B]
of the Jesuits and other religious. By royal decree of July 4, 1835,
the Society of Jesus was anew declared extinguished; and its property
was ordered to be sold, in order to apply the product thereof to the
extinction of the public debt. In spite of this decision, the Jesuits
remained established in España; and it was necessary, in the last
revolutionary period, to issue the decree of Oct. 12, 1868,
suppressing the Society of Jesus in the Peninsula and the adjacent
islands; and commanding that within the space of three days all their
colleges and institutions should be closed, and possession be taken
of their temporalities in the form provided on this point by the royal
decree of July 4, 1835. To these provisions were added this, that the
individuals of the suppressed Society might not again reunite in a
body or a community, nor wear the garb of the order, nor be in any way
subordinate to the superiors of the order who existed either within or
without España, those who were not ordained in sacris remaining subject
in all matters to the ordinary civil jurisdiction. But the realization
of this measure was ephemeral; for when the constitution of June 5,
1869, was published, the right of every person was declared--and
repeated in the constitution of June 30, 1876--to associate with others
for all the purposes in human life which are not opposed to public
morals; and, by favor of this liberty, the individuals of the Society
of Jesus considered themselves authorized to form an association and
found anew colleges and houses in the Spanish dominions."
A brief of Pope Leo XIII, dated July 13, 1886, finally reëstablished
the Society of Jesus throughout the world, and abrogated that of
Clement XIV which in 1773 suppressed the order. The pope took occasion
to express this permission in the warmest and most forcible terms; and
"the rehabilitation of the Society of Jesus could not have been more
complete or more satisfactory." "It is pleasant to observe that,
after three centuries of strife, the principle of authority has
triumphed." (Danvila, Reinado de Carlos III, iii, pp. 613-625.)
[177A] A letter from Mariano Fernandez Folgueras, dated Manila, Aug.
18, 1819, mentions the decrees of Fernando VII by which the Society
of Jesus is to be established throughout Spanish dominions, and
promises obedience to the royal orders.
[177B] An epidemic of cholera was raging in Madrid, and some malicious
persons persuaded the common people that it was caused by the friars
having poisoned the water. A mob broke into the Jesuit convents and
murdered many of the inmates; and over a hundred friars were killed
for the same reason.
[178] This constitution was partly printed at London, at the London
Printing Press, No. 25 Khulug St., in both Spanish and Tagálog. Those
parts printed (the ends, duties of the members, and the general rules)
contain some changes from Rizal's MS. Preceding the constitution
proper is the membership pledge to the Liga. It is as follows:
"Number ... To ... of ... I ... of ... years of age, of ... state,
profession ..., as a chosen son of Filipinas, declare under formal
oath that I know and entirely understand the ends aimed at by the Liga
Filipina, whose text appears on the back of the present. Therefore,
I submit myself, and of my own accord petition the chief ... of this
province, to admit me as a member and coworker in the same, and for
that purpose I am ready to unconditionally lend the necessary proofs
that may be demanded of me, in testimony of my sincere adhesion!" The
ends of this printed text are the same as those of the MS. The motto
is the same, and there is also a place for a countersign. The duties
of the members are somewhat changed, the changes being as follows:
"1. He shall pay two pesos for one single time, as an entrance fee, and
fifty centimos as monthly fee, from the month of his entrance. 2. With
the consciousness of what he owes to his fatherland, for whose
prosperity and through the welfare that he ought to covet for his
parents, children, brothers and sisters, and the beloved beings who
surround him, he must sacrifice every personal interest, and blindly
and promptly obey every command, every order, verbal or written, which
emanates from his Council or from the Provincial Chief. 3. He shall
immediately inform, and without the loss of a moment, the authorities
of his Council of whatever he sees, notes, or hears that constitutes
danger for the tranquillity of the Liga Filipina or anything touching
it. He shall earnestly endeavor to be sincere, truthful, and minute in
all that he shall have to communicate. 4. He shall observe the utmost
secrecy in regard to the deeds, acts, and decisions of his Council and
of the Liga Filipina in general from the profane, even though they be
his parents, brothers and sisters, children, etc., at the cost of his
own life, for this is the means by which the member will obtain what
he most desires in life." Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the same. The
general rules of the printed version are as follows: "In order that
the candidate may be admitted as a member to the Liga Filipina,
he must possess morality, good habits, not have been proceeded
against justifiably as a robber, shall not be a gambler, drunkard,
or libertine. The candidate must solicit and petition his entrance
from a member; and the latter shall communicate it to his Fiscal, for
the investigations that must be made in regard to his conduct." On
Dec. 30, 1903, a monument was erected to Rizal, to his companions,
and to other founders of the Liga Filipina by the village of Tondo,
on a site given by Timoteo Paez, one of the members of the Liga. On the
monument is the following inscription: "Remember [this word in English,
the rest in Spanish]. Facing this site and at house No. 176 Ilaya
St., Dr. Rizal founded and inaugurated on the night of July 3, 1892,
the Liga Filipina, a national secret society, with the assistance and
approval of the following gentlemen: Founder, Dr. Rizal; shot. Board of
directors--president, Ambrosio Salvador; arrested. Fiscal, Agustin de
la Rosa; arrested. Treasurer, Bonifacio Arevalo; arrested. Secretary,
Deodato Arellano; first president of the national war Katipunan
society; arrested. Members--Andres Bonifacio; supreme head of the
Katipunan, who uttered the first warcry against tyranny, August 24,
1896. Mamerto Natividad; seconded, in Nueva Écija, the movement of
Andres Bonifacio, August 28, 1896; shot. Domingo Franco; supreme
head of the Liga Filipina; shot. Moises Salvador; venerable master of
the respected lodge, Balagtas; shot. Numeriano Adriano; first guard
of the respected lodge, Balagtas; shot. José A. Dizon; venerable
master of the respected lodge, Taliba; shot. Apolinario Mabini;
legislator; arrested. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista; first patriot of
'68; arrested. Timoteo Lanuza; initiator of the manifestation for
the expulsion of the friars in 1888; arrested. Marcelino de Santos;
arbitrator and protector of La Solidaridad, the Filipino organ in
Madrid; arrested. Paulino Zamora; venerable master of the respected
lodge, Lusong; deported. Juan Zulueta; member of the respected lodge,
Lusong; died. Doroteo Ongjunco; member of the respected lodge, Lusong;
owner of the house. Arcadio del Rosario; orator of the respected lodge,
Balagtas; arrested. Timoteo Paez; arrested."--Epifanio de Los Santos.
See Retana's account of the Liga in Nuestro Tiempo for Aug. 10, 1905,
pp. 202-211. He says mistakenly that the constitution was printed
in Hong-Kong.
[179] This was Fernando Primo de Rivera, whose term ended April
11, 1898.
[180] The Consejo de Ministros is the council formed by the ministers
of the various departments, in order to discuss the most important
and arduous matters, or for the purpose of working harmoniously in
the discharge of their respective duties. The sovereign presides,
or the minister chosen as chief of the cabinet, who is called
president of the Council of Ministers. These councils are ordinary and
extraordinary, according as they are held periodically or when demanded
by circumstances. Thus the meetings of the council are analogous to
those of the cabinet of the United States. See Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer.,
v, p. 823.
[181] i.e., "Dumb dogs not able to bark," a portion of Isaias lvi, 10.
[182] The Spanish Cortes is made up of the Senate (Senado) and the
congress (congreso), and in them, together with the king, resides
the legislative power, according to the constitution of 1876. The
present Cortes is the outgrowth of the Cortes formerly assembled by
the king before the adoption of the constitution, or rather it is the
substitute that has supplanted them; for the inherent principle today
is that sovereignty resides in the nation instead of the king. See
Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., v, pp. 1166, 1167.
[183] See ante, pp. 195-201. See also North American Review, August,
1901, "The Katipunan of the Philippines," by Col. L. W. V. Kennon,
p. 212; and Primo de Rivera's Memorial.
[184] The original is carbonario, a word used to indicate the member
of a secret society, or the society itself. It is from the Italian
carbonaro, literally coal or charcoal dealer, and its origin is the
secret political sect of Italy, formed early in the nineteenth century,
with the avowed purpose of destroying tyranny and establishing freedom.
[185] The first Filipino freemason lodge in the Philippines was founded
in Cavite about 1860 by two Spanish naval officers under the name
of Luz Filipina. It was established under the auspices of the Gran
Oriente Lusitana, and was in correspondence with the Portuguese lodges
at Macao and Hong-Kong. Gradually other lodges were established and
natives and mestizos were admitted to membership. The "Gran Oriente"
of the text is the Spanish division of the order, Spain and Portugal
having split into two divisions after 1860. It is claimed by Catholics
that the Katipunan was the fighting branch of the masonic order. It
is probably true that it borrowed some few things from freemasonry in
matters of form, but there the analogy seems to end. For the friar
viewpoint of masonry in Spain and the Philippines, see Navarro's
Algunos asuntos de actualidad (Madrid, 1897), pp. 221-277; and
Pastells's La masonización de Filipinas. Sawyer's account (Inhabitants
of the Philippines, pp. 79-81) is very inadequate.
[186] i.e., "It is better to die than to federate."
[187] This passage (1 Machabees, iii, 59), reads in the English Douay
version: "For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the
evils of our nation, and of the holies."
[188] i.e., "As long as I am the apostle, I shall honour my ministry,"
a portion of Romans, xi, 13.
[189] In the Ayer collection is a document dated Manila, January 17,
1888, by one Candido Garcia, a native Filipino, an inhabitant of San
Felipe Neri, in which he complains against the friar parish priest
Gregorio Chagra, O.S.F., who has endeavored to have him deported as
anti-Spanish. The reason of this is because Garcia had complained
that the friar disobeyed the law in regard to burials as well as other
laws. He also accuses the friars of not wishing to have the Filipinos
learn Spanish, as they desire them to have no communication with
Spaniards. He thus charges the friars with disobedience and disloyalty.
[190] A brief statement by the pope of errors condemned in 1864,
and known under the title Syllabus errorum. It was appended to
the encyclical Quanta cura, condemning eighty doctrines, which it
calls "the principal errors of our times." These heresies had all
previously been pointed out by Pius IX in consistorial allocutions,
and encyclical and other apostolic letters. It is a protest against
atheism, materialism, and other forms of infidelity. It condemns
religious and civil liberty, separation of Church and State, and
preëminence of the Church of Rome. See Philip Schaff's Creeds of
Christendom (New York, 1877), i, pp. 128-134 and ii, pp. 213-233
(this last the Latin and English text of the Syllabus.)
[191] We have taken the reading of the English Douay
version. Translated directly from the Spanish, this verse reads:
"If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you will be blessed; for
the honor, glory, and virtue of God, and His own spirit rest upon you."
[192] Bartolomé de las Casas or Casaus, who was born in Sevilla in
1474, and died in Madrid, in July, 1569, and because of his great
exertions for the Indians called the "apostle of the Indies." Much
has been written concerning this romantic and sincere character of
early American history. He wrote various books, some of which have
been published. Mr. Ayer of Chicago possesses one volume in MS. of
his three-volume Historia general de Indias. This history (covering
the years 1492-1520) was begun in 1527 and completed in 1559.
[193] Aguinaldo states that after he had been driven to the mountains
in May, 1897, he established a republic. See North Amer. Rev., August,
1901, p. 212. See also the constitution of the so-called republic in
Constitución política de la Republica Filipina promulgada el dia 22
de Enero de 1899 (1899).
[194] See ante, p. 176.
[195] This is Psalm 34 in the Douay version, but, as here, 35, in the
Vulgate, and common English versions. Psalm 9 in the Douay version
is equivalent to 9 and 10 in the other versions. After verse 21 in
the Douay version is the sub-head "Psalm according to the Hebrews,"
and the following verses are numbered from unity. The Vulgate has
the same heading, but regards the subject-matter as a new psalm.
[196] We follow the Douay version to the word "good" (Psalm 34, 11,
and part of 12). The rest of the passage we translate directly, as it
has no exact equivalent in this Psalm. The direct translation of the
first two clauses of the Spanish is "Unjust witnesses have risen up,
and charged me with things of which I am ignorant."
[197] i.e., "Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth," the
first half of Proverbs xxvii, 2.
[198] In the Douay version this verse reads: "For so is the will
of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish men."
[199] The Douay version reads: "But we renounce the hidden things
of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the word
of God; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to
every man's conscience, in the sight of God." The last clause above
is evidently taken from 2 Cor. i, 12.
[200] A reference to Matthew, v, 13-16.
[201] The first reference is to Psalm cviii, 2 (Douay version) but
cxix, common English version. The second reference is to 1 Peter, iii,
16. Neither one is an exact quotation, and hence we translate directly.
[202] The cuadrilleros formerly acted as a police in the
Philippines. (See VOL. XVII, p. 333.) The guardia civil or civil
guard was created in imitation of the guardia civil of Spain (the
most efficient body of police of that country, and analogous to the
carabinieri of Italy) in 1869. (See Montero y Vidal, Historia general,
iii, p. 494.)
[203] Or robbers. They generally went in bands and had their retreats
in the woods and hills.
[204] See Col. L. W. V. Kennon's article in the North Amer. Review,
for August, 1901, "The Katipunan of the Philippines." Many other
writers speak of this society, but as yet no real authentic account
of it has appeared, as we are still too near it.
[205] This was Governor Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, who
wrote a Memorial on his record in the Philippines, which was published
at Madrid in 1898.
[206] A required paper of identification carried by the natives,
and for which they were taxed.
[207] This was Pedro Alejandro Paterno.
[208] These three sections are as follows:
45. The entire direction of public schools, in which the youth of
Christian states are educated, except (to a certain extent) in the
case of episcopal seminaries, may and must pertain to the civil power,
and belong to it so far that no other authority whatsoever shall be
recognized as having any right to interfere in the discipline of the
schools, the arrangement of the studies, the taking of degrees or
the choice and approval of the teachers.
47. The best theory of civil society requires that popular schools
open to the children of all classes, and, generally, all public
institutes intended for instruction in letters and philosophy, and
for conducting the education of the young, should be freed from all
ecclesiastical authority, government, and interference, and should
be fully subject to the civil and political power, in conformity with
the will of rulers and the prevalent opinions of the age.
48. This system of instructing youth, which consists in separating
it from the Catholic faith and from the power of the Church, and in
teaching exclusively, or at least primarily, the knowledge of natural
things and the earthly ends of social life alone, may be approved
by Catholics.
It must be understood that Pius IX condemns these three sections as
the entire eighty of the Syllabus as errors or heresies. (See Schaff's
Creeds of Christendom, ii, pp. 224, 225.)
[209] This section or error is as follows:
53. The laws for the protection of religious establishments, and
securing their rights and duties, ought to be abolished: nay, more,
the civil government may lend its assistance to all who desire to quit
the religious life they have undertaken, and break their vows. The
government may also suppress religious orders, collegiate churches, and
simple benefices, even those belonging to private patronage, and submit
their goods and revenues to the administration and disposal of the
civil power. (See Schaff's Creeds of Christendom, ii, pp. 226, 227.)
[210] See VOL. LI, pp. 146, 147, note 103; and ante, pp. 83, 84,
note 33.
[211] The Código de las siete partidas, so called because divided
into seven parts, were compiled by Alfonso the Wise, the work of
compilation beginning June 23, 1256, and being concluded probably in
1265. See Dic. encic. Hisp.-Amer., xiv, pp. 982, 983.
[212] See Synopsis and extracts of the instructions given to Legazpi
in our VOL. II, pp. 89-100.
[213] i.e., "The offscouring;" literally "worthless soul."
[214] i.e., "We are made as the refuse of this world, the offscouring
of all even until now," the last part of 1 Cor., iv, 13.
[215] This Memorial is most inadequately published in the Rosary
Magazine (a Dominican periodical) for 1900, by Ambrose Colman, O.P. It
is translated only in part, the translation often being faulty and
giving a wrong meaning, and translation and synopsis not always being
sufficiently indicated.
[216] This "notice" does not appear in the copy printed (probably
from one of the fifty copies) at the press of Viuda de M. Minuesa de
los Rios, Madrid.
[217] A Tagálog word, meaning "that which is in partnership."
[218] Pacto de retrovendendo: "A certain agreement accessory to the
contract of purchase and sale, by which the buyer obliges himself
to return the thing sold to the seller, the latter returning to
the buyer the price which he gave for it, within a certain time, or
when the seller shall require it, according to the terms in which
the agreement is drawn up." (Diccionario of the Academy, cited by
Dominguez.) Cf. the political use of the same phrase in the treaty
of Zaragoza (VOL. 1, p. 232).
[219] The word "composition" (Spanish, composición) as here used has "a
technical meaning as applied to lands, and may be defined as a method
by which the State enabled an individual who held its lands without
legal title thereto to convert his mere possession into a perfect
right of property by virtue of compliance with the requirements of
law. Composition was made in the nature of a compact or compromise
between the State and the individual who was illegally holding lands
in excess of those to which he was legally entitled, and, by virtue
of his compliance with the law, the State conferred on him a good
title to the lands that he had formerly held under a mere claim of
title." Under Spanish administration, there was great confusion and
uncertainty in land-titles; the laws in force were too complicated and
slow in operation, and left too much power in the hands of indifferent
or mercenary officials. Some benefits were yielded by regulations for
the composition of State lands which were in force from 1880 to 1894,
and in the latter year more definite and positive provisions were
made by royal decree (constituting the "public-land law" in force in
the islands when occupied by the United States) for the settlement
of uncertain land-titles; but in neither case were the results very
satisfactory. The same may be said of the registration system known
as the Ley hipotecaria (or mortgage law), which in 1889 was extended
to Filipinas. During the period of revolution and war (1896-99) many
of the land records were destroyed in the provinces, which further
complicated questions of land ownership; and the U. S. Philippine
Commission was obliged to make provision for the settlement of these
by the "Land Registration Act," which became effective on February 1,
1903. For account of its provisions and mode of operation, see the
chapter on "Land Titles" (pp. 127-137) in Official Handbook of the
Philippines--where also is presented a more detailed account of the
regulations made by the Spanish laws.
[220] At the foot of the last printed page is a note, evidently
written by some person in the secretary's office of the Council of
Indias (to which body this copy of the decree appears to have been
sent), which reads in translation: "It came with a letter from the
governor of Philipinas, Don Joseph de Basco y Vargas, dated June 16,
1784, and received at the secretary's office on March 19, 1785." A
penciled memorandum on the fly-leaf indicates that it was published
at Sampaloc, 1784.
[221] By royal decree of Feb. 26, 1886, the alcaldes-mayor of the
provinces were restricted to judicial functions, and in others they
were replaced by civil governors.
[222] Bernáldez, in his account (dated 1827) of "Reforms needed in
Filipinas" (already presented in our VOL. LI) says of this association
(fol. 29): "Although in Manila there is an Economic Society organized
to promote public prosperity by means of the industries of the country,
composed as it is of miscellaneous members, nominated without [their
own] solicitation, and without inclination for that sort of occupation,
there is little, if anything, to be expected from the activities of a
body which has already gone to pieces once through its own inaction,
and has been reëstablished only to comply with the sovereign's command,
and not by the activity or encouragement of the citizens of Filipinas
themselves."
[223] Evidently referring to the pamphlet, Noticia del origen y hechos
notables de la Real Sociedad ... segun sus actas y documentos oficiales
(Manila, 1860); but this is a second edition, the first having been
issued in 1855.
[224] Probably referring to the book The Lancasterian System of
Education, with Improvements, published (Baltimore, 1821) by Joseph
Lancaster on his newly-invented educational system (commonly known as
the "monitorial"). He was an Englishman, born in 1778, and a member
of the Society of Friends; he visited the United States, where he
published the above work; and his death occurred in 1838.
[225] See account of this periodical in VOL. LI, p. 48, note 16.
[226] This was Paul de la Gironière, a French surgeon who went to
Manila in 1820, and who escaped, almost by a miracle, from the massacre
of foreigners by the natives in that year. He married a Spanish lady
of Manila, the Marquesa de las Salinas, and spent twenty years in the
islands, where he founded a colony at Jala-Jala, and kept a large
estate under cultivation, besides performing, at various times,
official functions entrusted to him by the Manila government. He
returned to France, where he died about 1865. He was author of a book,
Aventures d'un gentilhomme breton aux îles Philippines (Paris, 1855),
which had considerable vogue, and is regarded as an interesting
and in many respects valuable description of the islands, their
resources and people, and social conditions there. He also wrote
Vingt années aux Philippines (Paris, 1853), of which an English
abridgment was published in London soon afterward, called Twenty
Years in the Philippines. (See Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca filipina,
pp. 185-186.) An English translation with the same title was published
at New York (1854), "revised and extended by the author."
[227] Apparently alluding to the short-lived periodical Precios
corrientes de Manila (1639-41); see VOL. LI, p. 71, note 31.
[228] One of the largest and richest towns of the province of
Bulacán; and both town and province are renowned for various native
manufactures--hats, cigar-cases, piña fabrics, and petates (i.e.,
mats)--of fine quality, and often very costly. See Jagor's account
(Reisen, p. 48) of the manufacture of these cigar-cases at Balivag;
the fibers of which they are made are obtained from a certain
species of Calamus (rattar), and the cases cost from two to fifty
pesos each. It appears that the word petaca comes (as does petate,
"mat") from the Mexican word petlatl, meaning "a mat."
[229] "In 1848 were procured from London the steamers 'Magallanes,'
'Elcano,' and 'Reina de Castilla,' which were the first vessels
of this class that were seen in Filipinas; and to their excellent
services are due the rapid transformation which was wrought in the
prosperity of the country, and the repression of the piracies of the
Moro Malays." (Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, iii, p. 87.)
[230] In the Archivo general de Indias at Sevilla are MS. reports of
this society's labors for a number of consecutive years.
[231] Jiguilete (or xiquilite): the name given in India to the indigo
shrub. The cerpentaria here mentioned is not identifiable, unless it be
some other species of Indigofera, several of which are cultivated in
Filipinas. The "Vanilla" is presumably a plant described by Blanco,
which he calls Vanilla ovalis, greatly resembling V. aromatica,
except that it lacked the fragrant odor of the latter.
[232] See Jagor's chapter (Reisen, pp. 309, 310) on the opium
monopoly which was established in Filipinas on Jan. 1, 1844, and
later continued by the Spanish government, after much discussion and
controversy. Various arguments of policy, health, and morality were
brought forward on both sides, but that which finally triumphed was
evidently the one thus stated by the governor-general, "The revenue
from opium is indispensable for our treasury." The use of opium in the
islands was intended for the Chinese residing there (being forbidder to
the Indians and mestizos), and then only under certain restrictions;
but Jagor found that, besides the 478 public opium-joints--which were
"actual hotbeds of immorality, and always full of Chinese"--hundreds
of individuals were allowed, contrary to the law and to the intentions
of the government, to smoke opium in their own houses. The revenue
from opium amounted in 1860 to 98,000 escudos; in the fiscal year of
1865-66, to 140,000; and in 1866-67, to 207,000. Montero y Vidal cites
in Archipiélago filipino (published in 1886), the tariff schedule of
1874, "The importation of opium is prohibited; and only that will be
allowed which, in small quantities, is destined for the pharmacies,
and all that which may be imported by the lessees of the right to sell
this drug to whom the Treasury has granted that exclusive right in the
provinces there--in which case it will pay duty according to item 80"
(that is, at eight per cent).
[233] A tree found in China (Stillingia sebifera), which yields a
substance resembling tallow, which is used for the same purpose as
the latter.
[234] Regarding the gutta-percha industry, see Official Handbook of
the Philippines, pp. 91-95.
[235] The water supply of Manila is taken from the Mariquina River,
eight miles from the city, being pumped thence to a reservoir halfway
to Manila, from which it is distributed. "The works are owned by the
municipality, having been largely paid for with a fund, the proceeds
of a legacy, left by the will of a citizen, Francisco Carriedo,
who died in 1743." (Official Handbook, p. 269.) This was one of the
obras pias founded by a public-spirited citizen, Francisco Carriedo
y Peredo; he was born in the town of Santander in 1690, and died at
the age of 53, "having during his life conferred immense benefits on
Filipinas." (Vindel, Catálogo, i, pp. 155, 156.)
[236] The botanical garden of Manila was created by Governor Norzagaray
(by decree of Sept. 13, 1858); and, as a result of this, a royal decree
of May 29, 1861, founded there a school o£ botany and agriculture,
under the control of the governor of the islands and immediate
supervision of the Economic Society. The locality called Campo de
Arroceros ["the rice-dealers' field"] was set apart as a botanical
garden, for the practical work of that school, with approval of
the expenditures incurred by the governor for the establishment of
both institutions; and the sum of 6,000 pesos a year was allowed for
their maintenance. (In 1894-95, the budget included for the expenses
of these two establishments the sum of 37,294 pesos.) See Montero y
Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, iii, pp. 260, 261, 317, 318.
[237] Worcester says of the Ifugaos (ut supra, p. 829): "Their
agriculture is little short of wonderful, and no one who has seen
their dry stone dams, their irrigating ditches running for miles
along precipitous hillsides and even crossing the faces of cliffs,
and their irrigated terraces extending for thousands of feet up the
mountain sides, can fail to be impressed (Pl. xxvi, xxxvii). When
water must be carried across cliffs so hard and so broken that
the Ifugaos cannot successfully work the stone with their simple
tools, they construct and fasten in place great troughs made from
the hollowed trunks of trees, and the same procedure is resorted
to when cañons must be crossed, great ingenuity being displayed in
building the necessary supporting trestle-work of timber. The nearly
perpendicular walls of their rice paddies are usually built of stone,
although near Quiangan, where the country is comparatively open and
level, walls of clay answer the same purpose, and are used. The stone
retaining walls are sometimes forty feet high, and so steep are the
mountain sides that the level plots gained by building such walls and
filling in behind them are often not more than twenty or thirty feet
wide. I know of no more impressive example of primitive engineering
than the terraced mountain sides of Nueva Vizcaya, beside which the
terraced hills of Japan sink into insignificance."
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